The communications minister, Mitch Fifield, also declined to explain the deal on Wednesday, except to say it was part of the media reform package. “This was a decision of government, announced in the budget as part of the media reform package,” a spokeswoman told Guardian Australia. “The department’s FOI process is independent of the minister.”Under the broadcasting and content reform package the government provided $36m over four years from 2017-18, including $30m for Foxtel. The move, which saw broadcasting licence fees and datacasting charges abolished, will save them $130m and was welcomed by Nine, Ten and Seven. The media reform package also included changes to Australia’s anti-siphoning regime to reduce the size of the list.

Source: The Guardian July 19, 2017 07:41 UTC