Australia’s regional news services will be the focus of a new Parliamentary inquiry announced on Christmas Eve, just as many smaller regional newspapers were closing for their annual break.

 The House of Representatives Standing Committee on Communications and the Arts will hear evidence on newspaper services in rural, regional and remote areas.

The Committee will be chaired by Dr Anne Webster MP, the Nationals MP for the Mallee in Victoria.

"Local news is a vital component to an interconnected community and a thriving democracy, particularly in smaller markets, having a choice in where to access your news coverage is not always possible," Dr Webster said.

 ‘At a time when many regional and remote newspaper services are shutting down or moving online, it is vital that we understand the needs of regional communities, and how heavily they rely on their local newspapers to stay connected.’

A recent survey has found that Australians living in regional communities are far more likely to go to their local news or newspaper website for information than other accessible online sources like search engines, social media sites or local council websites.

Other NSW representatives on the committee are  Deputy Chair Ms Emma McBride, Labor member for Dobell (covering the Wyong area from north of Gosford to south of Cessnock) and Trent Zimmerman, Liberal Member for North Sydney.

Of the eight person committee overseeing the Inquiry, just Dr Webster, the Honorary Damien Drum, member for Nicholls (Shepparton, Vic) and Ms McBride are from regional electorates.

The Committee will examine the impact of decisions by large publishers to suspend publication of print editions over the past few years, which affected dozens of communities throughout New South Wales, including Nyngan, Narromine, Gunnedah and Wellington.

When services delivered to regional communities by the large corporations were contracting, new operators saw opportunities in these and other markets and there has been a return of private small businesses into local newspaper publishing, such as occurred in the four communities mentioned.

This trend will also be considered, along with the impacts on revenues and operation of several of the other major challenges small regional publishers have been confronted with over the past few years.

Across the western plains region small independent local newspapers have always been in the majority and there are now twelve papers covering eleven local government areas, and most are members of the state's Country Press association.

President Lucie Peart, who is based in Gilgandra and also operates the Narromine and Nyngan newspapers, said Country Press NSW Inc welcomes any inquiry or discussions with governments that examine the challenges faced by independent news publishers.

"Newspapers are of vital importance to their communities and throughout the pandemic, have been a trusted and correct source of information," Mrs Peart said.

"Country Press NSW and our national body, Country Press Australia will make a submission to the inquiry on behalf of members outlining the challenges faced by publishers including the price of newsprint and supply issues, attracting and retaining journalists and workers in other skill areas, digital transformation, increased regulatory liabilities for publishers, printing monopolies, and ongoing advertising decline."

"COVID has changed the way many publishers have conducted their business, many have actually expanded during this time, which is a testament to the independent model of community and regional publications," she said.

The Inquiry into Regional Newspapers comes hot on the heels of the senate Inquiry into Media Diversity in Australia, which handed down it's final report on 9 December 2021, just a couple of weeks before this new Inquiry was announced and, with submissions due to close on 28 January, stakeholders say there is little time to properly prepare a response.

Lee O'Connor, Editor of the Coonamble Times newspaper (and the Western Plains App), is Deputy Chair of the Country Press NSW and says that both the timing of the latest Inquiry and the short timeframe for community and industry input do little to create trust in the process but that residents who value their local and regional news should have their say if they can.

"I am hoping the Country Press will be calling for a reinstatement of the Cadetships Program and a replenishment of funds in the Regional & Small Publishers Innovation and Public Interest News Gathering Programs which were depleted during the early months of covid lockdown in 2020 with the bulk directed to major corporations but making little difference to the news services for regional communities," Mrs O'Connor said.

"I'm yet to digest the report of the previous inquiry, but once the government has gathered this updated information, as a regional publisher, I'll be looking for clear support and not just an ongoing discussion around media regulation where smaller independent regional publishers are often collateral damage."

"I urge the people who live in our region to have their say in this Inquiry," she said.

Submissions can also be made through the webpage, or by email to [email protected] until 28 January 2022.

Information about the Committee may be found on the Committee’s webpage.