Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights

Page 3
1.8 The committee expresses its belief that adequate time and opportunity be
provided for the consideration by the Parliament of complex legislative proposals
which embody major policy changes.
Compatibility with human rights
1.9 The bill is accompanied by a self-contained statement of compatibility which
states that the bill engages the right to freedom of expression and the rights of
equality and non-discrimination and concludes it is compatible with human rights.
Right to freedom of expression
1.10 A number of aspects of the bill engage the guarantee of freedom of
expression in article 19 of the ICCPR in both its individual and systemic aspects.
Limitation on the number of broadcasting licences
1.11 The bill gives effect to the recommendation of the Convergence Review that
a fourth national commercial television network not be created, by providing that no
additional commercial television broadcasting licences will be made available for this
purpose.
1.12 While the potential holders of such licences would be corporations and may
therefore not be able to directly invoke the right to freedom of expression under
article 19 of the ICCPR, that guarantee also confers the right to receive information
and ideas on the potential audiences of such broadcasters. Accordingly, the decision
not to open up available broadcasting spectrum for this purpose may be viewed as
an encroachment on freedom of expression guaranteed by article 19. The statement
of compatibility notes that:
The measures that limit the number of terrestrial commercial television
services in an area may limit the rights of natural persons to exercise
freedom of expression, as outlined in Article 19(2) of the ICCPR, by
restricting the availability and delivery of the most popular category of
television service. 2
1.13 The UN Human Rights <strong>Committee</strong> has underlined the positive obligations of
States parties to the ICCPR to ensure that there is a diverse range of media and that
there is not excessive media concentration. 3 Thus, a decision to restrict the number
of broadcasting licences also engages this aspect of Australia’s obligations under
article 19 of the ICCPR.
2 Statement of compatibility, p 5.
3 Human Rights <strong>Committee</strong>, General Comment No 34 (2011), para 40.