Screen industry turns up the heat for content quotas for streaming services
• The visit is part of the Make It Australian campaign
Australian actors including Simon Baker, Bryan Brown, Marta Dusseldorp and Justine Clarke were in Canberra on Tuesday to convince Parliament to introduce local content requirements for booming digital viewing platforms including Netflix, Stan and Disney+.
With a growing consensus that Australian content rules must keep up with the public’s appetite for on-demand and streaming services, the star-studded delegation included top screen producers, writers and technicians who met with politicians from all parties to ensure Australian stories continue to be told on Australian screens.
The visit is part of the Make It Australian campaign backed by MEAA, the Australian Directors’ Guild, Australian Writers’ Guild, and Screen Producers Australia.
For the last four years Make it Australian supporters including Hugo Weaving, Judy Davis and Deborah Mailman have lobbied Canberra to urge action on local content rules, argue for the retention of competitive incentives to support local film production in a global market and sustainable funding for public broadcasters and Screen Australia.
When the group met with MP Anthony Albanese, the leader of the Australian Labor Party told them: “We need local content quotas for streaming platforms. We need to support Australian stories.”
The screen industry lobby group visiting Canberra on Tuesday included:
Simon Baker (Actor, Producer & Director)
Barbara Stephen (CEO, Flying Bark Productions)
Bryan Brown (Actor & Producer)
David Gurney (Co-Founder, Blue Rocket Productions)
David Jowsey (Producer, Bunya Productions)
Donna Andrews (Founding Partner, Sticky Pictures)
Greer Simpkin (Producer, Bunya Productions)
John Edwards (Founder & Producer, Roadshow Rough Diamond)
Julia Adams (Executive Producer & Partner, Shiff & Company)
Justine Clarke (Actor & Producer)
Madeleine Hetherton-Maiu (Producer, Director & Co-Founder, Media Stockade)
Marta Dusseldorp (Actor & Producer)
Matthew Deaner (CEO, SPA)
Paul Murphy (CEO, MEAA)
Sandra Walters (Producer, Co-Founder and Executive Producer, Kapow Pictures)
