Australia's media industry looks set for a major shake-up, after the Federal Government finally struck a deal to pass a suite of changes.
The Coalition has been negotiating with the Senate crossbench over the proposal for weeks, and has now managed to hammer out a final agreement.
Under the changes the two-out-of-three rule will be scrapped, allowing a company to own a TV station, newspaper and radio station in a single market.
The "reach rule", which prevented a single TV broadcaster from reaching more than 75 per cent of the population, will also go.
There will also be a change to revenue-based licence fees, which will be replaced by a lower spectrum charge.
Key to the passage of the legislation has been the support of senator Nick Xenophon and his team.
Senator Xenophon said the negotiations were "the most difficult and protracted" he had ever been involved in, but key to his support was a fund for regional journalism.
"I and my colleagues welcome the Government's commitment to implement a regional and small publishers jobs and innovation package worth $60.4 million over three years," he said.
The fund will include money for 200 cadetships of as much as $40,000 each, as well as grants for small publishers that will be capped at $1 million.
Larger media companies like Newscorp and Fairfax will be ineligible to access the fund.
Senator Xenophon said he had also secured a deal for an ACCC inquiry into the impact of platforms like Google and Facebook on the media industry.
Debate went late into last night, and there could be a final vote by the end of the week.
Coalition agrees to One Nation's ABC inquiry
Communications Minister Mitch Fifield said the reforms were essential.
"We have the support of essentially the entire Australian media industry," he said.
It has been a protracted negotiation process as Labor was opposed to elements of the legislation.
The Coalition had to strike a deal with Pauline Hanson's One Nation party, which wants an investigation into the ABC.
Senator Fifield said the national broadcaster will be subject to a "competitive neutrality inquiry".
"Whether a government organisation is using its status in a way to compete in a way that isn't reasonable with commercial organisations," he said.
The Minister rejected suggestions that One Nation was attacking the ABC.
"What we have agreed and what we will seek to pursue in relation to the ABC are measures to enhance the ABC," Senator Fifield said.
The measures that relate to the public broadcaster will be dealt with in a separate piece of legislation.
There will also be a requirement for the ABC to have a reference to "rural and regional" in its charter as well as two people on the ABC board with a rural or regional background.
