Minister for Broadband and Comunications Senator Stephen Conroy is sticking to the government's deadline on media reforms. Photo: Colleen Petch
The deadline for passing the government's media reform laws is firm, says Communications Minister Stephen Conroy, despite calls from independents to shelve the bills until parliament returns in May.
Senator Conroy said if remaining four bills were not approved by Friday, he would withdraw them and move on.
''If it can't be agreed upon by the end of this week then we'll not proceed with the bills and we'll move on,'' he said.
Having passed two bills through parliament, senior government figures are in talks with crossbench MPs to salvage parts of the remaining bills.
Thursday's parliamentary sitting times have been extended in a bid to pass law changes, which would introduce a new public interest test for media mergers and acquisitions and put in place an advocate to ensure press councils properly uphold standards and deal with complaints.
At the heart of the talks is a plan by independent MP Bob Katter to have a three-person commission – appointed by a 12-member community and media industry representative panel – to oversee media mergers.
But it appears the idea of a single public interest media advocate to deal with press standards is dead.
Independent MP Rob Oakeshott said on Thursday that the bills should be put on the table until parliament returned in May.
''I would much prefer, if the government really believed in its bills, is (for it) to buy some time,'' he said. ''My message to government is stop already.''
Mr Oakeshott said he would oppose the remaining bills if the government insisted on taking them to a vote on Thursday, warning of ''a mad rush in the next three to four hours''.
Mr Oakeshott has also poured cold water on Mr Katter's plan for a three-person commission to oversee media mergers, saying it was ''convoluted''.
''It may be the great wonder plan of our time, but I doubt it,'' he told Sky News on Thursday.
Opposition communications spokesman Malcolm Turnbull on Thursday ridiculed Mr Katter's plan, saying it reminded him somewhat of the Venetian constitution and also called for a delay.
''Where you have a panel appointing a panel, appointing someone else,'' he told reporters in Canberra.
''If they're serious about this they should bring them back in the June sittings after there's been some consultation.''
Mr Katter's plan emerged as a compromise aimed at saving the reforms concerning media diversity after Prime Minister Julia Gillard intervened personally this week in two days of frantic negotiations.
Another key independent, Tony Windsor, had a contrary view on Mr Katter's plan, saying on Thursday that he believed it had merit, but he also called for more time to reach agreement.
''If you have a group of eminent citizens that represent larger groups across Australia, you're actually bypassing the political appointment,'' he told ABC radio.
''I think it is a relatively simple, clean model, and does most of the things that people are saying should be done.''
Mr Windsor estimated that there was a 60 per cent chance of some of the remaining media bills passing parliament, but admitted the bill to give the proposed Public Interest Media Advocate oversight of the press council was likely to be defeated.
''But nothing's dead, until it's dead,'' he said. ''Another week on this of rational negotiation and discussion could in fact come up with something that could work.''
The government needs the support of all five of the seven crossbench independents who have not completely ruled out supporting the reforms.
On Wednesday afternoon, before Mr Katter's proposal was circulated, Tasmanian independent Andrew Wilkie had joined Mr Oakeshott in announcing he would vote against all four of the government's remaining media bills.
''Frankly, this is a shambles of the government's own making, and no reasonable person could expect quality decisions to be made in these circumstances,'' Mr Wilkie said.
That meant Ms Gillard and Mr Conroy were forced to spend the afternoon trying to secure the votes of the five remaining crossbenchers – independents Craig Thomson, Mr Katter, Mr Windsor and Peter Slipper and the Greens' Adam Bandt.
Despite having also said previously that he would not vote for the changes, Mr Thomson met Mr Katter in the afternoon and was considering the plan.
The Greens, meanwhile, secured amendments to ensure there was a single Press Council, with a separate pre-existing West Australian entity able to remain so long as it signed up to the new standards.
The lower house has already passed two relatively uncontroversial bills that would expand the requirement for Australian content, prevent the establishment of a fourth commercial television network, and update the ABC and SBS charters to explicitly require the production of online content.
Lenore Taylor and AAP
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