Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation announced it has formalised payments from Google and Facebook.
The amount the media giant is receiving from the tech giants is not public, but News Corp Australia’s executive chairman Michael Miller confirmed the deals were now complete.
The company said it would be investing in local and regional journalism, in response to willingness by Australians to pay for “hyper-local news,” Miller said.
News Corp has confirmed it has formalised payments from Google and Facebook, following agreements made by Australia’s major publishers in March of this year.
The announcement comes following the signing by the Australian government of the controversial media bargaining code into law on February 25, which requires tech firms to pay news publishers.
Victoria Promises World Leading Legislation to Halve Emissions by 2030
The Victorian Labor Government has positioned itself as Australia’s most ambitious climate change state, becoming one of the first jurisdictions in the world to legislate a net-zero emissions target and promising to halve emissions by 2030.
The announcement is part of the state government’s new Climate Change Strategy (pdf) to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, which contrasts with the Federal Government’s plan for emissions reduction, which is a 26 to 28 percent reduction by 2030 without a definitive target date for achieving net-zero to avoid imposing heavy taxation.
Instead, Victoria hopes to meet the goal by legislating five-year reduction targets that will see carbon emission reduced by 28 to 33 per cent by 2025 and 45 to 50 percent by 2030.
Australian prime minister backs down on jail threats as India travel ban backlash intensifies Michael E. Miller
Replay Video UP NEXT The backlash intensified Tuesday to Australia’s threat to jail or fine citizens fleeing India, prompting Prime Minister Scott Morrison to play down the risk of penalties after a former cricket star accused him of having “blood” on his hands for abandoning thousands of Australians in the coronavirus-hit country. The government’s announcement that citizens returning to Australia after recently spending time in India could face five years in jail, a $50,000 fine or both has sparked criticism from across the political spectrum.