PERTH TRAIN STATION —
SKY NEWS BROADCAST
204. Hon TIM CLIFFORD to the minister representing the
Minister for Transport:
Last year, I asked questions about
the suitability of Sky News broadcasting at Perth's Public Transport
Authority stations. It has come to my attention that Sky News broadcast the
Facebook live stream of the horrific terrorist attack last Friday in New
Zealand. I am aware that Sky News is broadcast at public transport stations and
I am concerned about the effect of this broadcast on the public, so I would
like the following clarified.
(1) Will the
minister please advise which stations aired the broadcast showing the terrorist
attack and how many people were able to view this content?
(2) Will the
minister consider replacing Sky News with a more suitable and trusted outlet
such as the Australian Broadcasting Corporation?
Hon
STEPHEN DAWSON replied:
I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question. The following information is provided on behalf of
the Minister for Transport.
(1)–(2) Perth
station is the only station with large digital format screens installed. These
screens are used for advertising purposes under contract with APN Outdoor.
News, sport and weather content is provided by Sky News between advertisements
under a commercial arrangement between APN and Sky News. This content includes
specific news stories that Sky News would prepare for various locations such as
train stations and airport lounges but not the actual live broadcast of Sky
News. APN has advised Transperth that to the best of its knowledge, no live
streaming of the footage occurred on the news content provided to Perth
station. The minister has asked the department to confirm this with Sky News.