Ms ADDISON (Wendouree) (16:20): I too am delighted to rise to speak on the government house amendment regarding regional public notices in the Regulatory Legislation Amendment (Reform) Bill 2021. It is great to follow so many strong voices for regional Victoria, particularly Labor voices, and to hear the contributions from the member for Geelong, the member for Buninyong, the member for Lara—my good friend—as well as the member for Yan Yean. I understand that the member for South Barwon is to follow me.

What you really hear when you listen to the contributions of Labor regional MPs is the deep roots they have in their community, the care they have for their community and the understanding they have for their community, because that is what it is about. We are amplifying the voices of regional Victorians in our government every day. You have only got to look at the investment in my community of Ballarat. Whether it be our GovHub, whether it be an upgrade to our Ballarat train station, whether it be our $60 million roads package, we are making sure that the regions are heard, and I know that you do that so well too, Deputy Speaker. What you are doing for Bendigo West is extraordinary in terms of the investment that you are drawing—and bringing Elvis to the Bendigo Art Gallery is also very impressive.

But it is not just the wonderful members who have spoken so far. We have also got incredible members in Bass, in Bellarine, in Bendigo East, in Macedon and my good friend in Melton, who are very strong voices, as well as members in the other place representing the western, northern and eastern regions around Victoria. Never forget: our Premier is from Wangaratta. Right? He is a country boy who never forgets where he came from. So for us to be lectured by people like the member for Lowan and the member for Ripon, who grew up in Malvern, about what it is like to live in the country, can be a little bit rich, I can just say.

It was interesting: talking about regional newspapers, there was a great article in the Ballarat Courier today which I am sure will be of interest to our Liberal members that are here today. It is called ‘Time running out as election approaches’, because the Liberal Party has not even preselected someone to run for the federal seat of Ballarat. There is no federal candidate for Ballarat. It is very interesting that Alex Ford, the journalist at the Ballarat Courier interviewed—

Mr R Smith: On a point of order, Deputy Speaker, I would just very simply suggest that this contribution is a far cry from where the amendments are before this house.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: It has been a fairly wideranging debate. It is a point of debate, but I do ask the member for Wendouree to come back to the amendment before the house.

Ms ADDISON: I will refer to the member for Lowan’s contribution. She talked about this bill happening during our preselection process, so she actually brought up preselection. The member for Lowan has raised preselection, and therefore I think it is a bit inappropriate for you to complain about me talking about preselection.

Mr R Smith: On a point of order, Deputy Speaker, I would just remind, through you, the member for Wendouree that you have made a ruling, and for her to criticise me raising an issue that you upheld seems to be a reflection on the Chair, to me.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: It is not a point of order.

Ms ADDISON: In this article in the Ballarat Courier, which is a regional newspaper that is printed in Ballarat in my electorate of Wendouree, there was a really interesting point made by a Latrobe University expert on regional Victoria. I wish to quote the Ballarat Courier, a regional newspaper, which is a very important part of the debate:

I think one of the structural problems the Liberal Party has in places like Ballarat and Bendigo is a real dearth of high-quality, well-known local candidates to challenge the incumbents, and it’s been that way for some time now, and there are a few reasons for that—

Mr R Smith: On a point of order, Deputy Speaker, again I just find that whether they are Liberal candidates, Labor candidates, Greens candidates, whoever a party in this place selects to be their candidate has nothing to do with the amendments that are before the house.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: As I said before, it is a point of debate, and I think that the member for Wendouree is referring to a local newspaper. This has been a wideranging debate. It is a point of debate; it is not a point of order.

Ms ADDISON: Thank you. Going back to an article in a regional newspaper that was printed today, I would like to just finish the quote:

… and there are a few reasons for that—

talking about the Liberals being out of touch in my community—

the membership’s getting older, and it’s really hard to attract young people, so the party, in a sense, is ossifying.

If you don’t pick your candidate until the last minute, like in Bendigo and Ballarat, you’ve really got no chance.

So as I was talking about the Ballarat Courier and we are all talking about how important it is that newspapers have strong voices in our regions, that is a very strong voice from our local Courier today. I am proud to be the member that has the home of the Ballarat Courier, and that is why I am so pleased to speak on the amendments made to guarantee that public notices will still be printed in regional papers and that they will be no worse off as a result of these amendments.

The Courier is Ballarat’s and the region’s leading provider of news—such as today’s article—and information, and it is really amazing to think that it dates back to 10 June 1867. It is a Ballarat institution, and I note that the editor of the first edition of the Ballarat Courier, Robert Clark, promised to speak out boldly on issues that would impact Ballarat, which would include the preselection of a federal Liberal candidate in the upcoming state election. For nearly 155 years the Courier has been keeping Ballarat residents informed and entertained and is continuing to speak out boldly on the issues impacting the Ballarat community. I would really like to commend the editor, Eugene Duffy, and local journalists Rochelle Kirkham, Caleb Cluff, Alex Ford, Michelle Smith, Greg Gliddon, Jackson Russell, Maeve McKenna, Ellie Mitchell and Matt Currill as well as our incredibly talented photographers Lachlan Bence, Adam Trafford, Luke Hemer and Kate Healy.

Mr Dimopoulos: You know them all.

Ms ADDISON: I do. They are good people, and they are keeping us to account.

I have really strong ties to newspapers. My grandfather ran Gullan’s newsagency at 88 Bridge Mall, Ballarat, for many years. It was also where my father worked in the family business for years before opening his pharmacy, and I delivered newspapers as a kid for three years in Alfredton in my electorate. Further, as a former national industrial officer of the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union printing division, formerly the Printing and Kindred Industries Union, I am a strong supporter of the printing and packaging industry and the hardworking printers across our state. So for me support for this bill is in my DNA. I support a strong, diverse regional media, particularly the print media, and believe it is a key pillar of our democratic society. I am really looking forward to the independent member for Shepparton’s contribution, because it is well known that she has played a key role in bringing this amendment to this place to ensure that the regional voice of local media is heard.

There is so much to talk about, and I have been interrupted so many times I am not going to get through everything. The original bill was about trying to make sure that we had a 21st-century approach to public notices and also reducing the cost for businesses, because it can cost up to $1700 in print advertising per notice. However, this good government, this government that listens and acts, as my good friend the member for Lara said earlier, said that for some more diverse and vulnerable members of the community we had to keep the print going. And we understand that regional communities had concerns as well. So, importantly, our government’s proposed house amendment clarifies that regional and local newspapers will be left no worse off by the government’s changes to the regional public notices. So that is good news. The amendment will mean that any notice that is required by law to be published in a print newspaper circulating in a particular locality will remain unchanged after this bill is passed. That is really, really good news. In effect it guarantees the current status quo for regional newspapers, which will be very much welcomed. It will be welcomed certainly by the Ballarat Courier. It will be welcomed by the BendigoAdvertiser and by the Geelong Addy. It will also be welcomed by the Frankston Times and the Mornington News, which will be great news for the hardworking members for Frankston and Nepean.

We also know that because of this government our newspapers are still going okay in the regions. Since April 2020 the Andrews Labor government has invested $17.5 million in regional press advertising, and I am being lectured to by the member for Ripon, the member for Lowan and other members of the house saying that we do not care about regional papers. We care—$17.5 million worth of care to make sure our regional papers continue to prosper. I commend the bill to the house.

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