20.07.2011
Issue 5 | 20 July 2011 View original format
Thanks for your submissions
Submissions in response to the National Classification Scheme Review Issues Paper closed on 15 July 2011. The ALRC received more than 2000 submissions – a record for any ALRC Inquiry to date!
The Classification Review team is now working through the content of the
submissions. We aim to acknowledge contributions where possible, but
this has been a high volume of submissions for the ALRC to deal with. We
are posting the public submissions to our website as quickly as we can,
but please bear with us.
In some instances, submitters have asked that their submissions be
confidential, in full or in part. Typically, this arises in cases where
an organisation is providing information that may be
commercial-in-confidence, and the ALRC respects the need for this, while
also maintaining our public interest remit to make information widely
available to the community. In some cases, individuals asked that their
submissions also be made confidential, perhaps in order to maintain
personal privacy. We also respect that wish. (Confidential and
anonymous submissions are not published on the website.)
View submissions published so far >>
Next steps
The
round of submissions that closed last Friday represents only the first
stage of the public consultation process, and there will be other
opportunities to engage with the Review. The Classification Review team
are now working through the submissions, using the information they
provide to develop the Discussion Paper. This will be released in
mid-September, when the ALRC will again call for public feedback on more
detailed proposals for reform. Meanwhile, we are continuing to conduct
face-to-face consultations with various stakeholder groups – a list of
these will be published in the Discussion Paper.
The Lead Commissioner, Professor Terry Flew, has also been giving
presentations on the Classification Review, and will present at the
Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane on 28 July 2011, at The Big Picture: Socio-Cultural Research and Australia’s Policy Challenges. Professor Flew published an opinion piece in the Koori Mail,
to encourage input from Indigenous communities, and has conducted
interviews with journalists from the Australian Broadcasting
Corporation, the Sydney Morning Herald, and AusGamers.
Convergence Review
The
process of convergence is blurring distinctions between types of media
platforms and content, and we are considering the best ways to develop a
policy framework that is responsive to the challenges of media
convergence. In light of this, the Department of Broadband,
Communications and the Digital Economy is undertaking a Convergence
Review, through an independent panel chaired by Glen Boreham. They have
released an Emerging Issues paper, based on public
consultations, which outlines ten principles for media and
communications policy in the context of media convergence. Their
analysis is feeding in to the ALRC’s thinking on these issues.
View the Convergence Review Emerging Issues paper >>
The Convergence Review Committee are conducting consultations around Australia during August 2011. See the timetable >>