Mr Murphy asked the Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, upon notice, on 11 February 2004:

(1) Did he see the report in the Australian Financial Review on 5 February 2004 titled “Alston keeps in touch with top media buddies”.

(2) Can he confirm that part of the report which stated that the Government's media deregulation bill is due to come before the Senate later this month; if not, why not.

Mr Williams (Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts) —The answer to the honourable member's question is as follows:

(1) Yes.

(2) The Government remains committed to reforming Australia's media ownership laws. The Government intends to debate the Broadcasting Services Amendment (Media Ownership) Bill 2002 [No 2] in the Senate in due course.