Acting Minister of Broadcasting Steve Maharey will be contacting industry stakeholders over the next few weeks as he familiarises himself with the key policy issues facing the industry and the Government.

"I regret the circumstances under which the Prime Minister was required to ask me to assume these additional responsibilities. The resignation of my colleague the Hon Marion Hobbs is a matter of deep sadness and I acknowledge her contribution to the portfolio."

Mr Maharey said that he had a long-standing interest in broadcasting policy, including a period as the Labour Party spokesperson.

"The portfolio is a key one, and the Government is committed to implementing the policies on which it was elected," Steve Maharey said.

Ends

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Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>