Home and Away and Lego Masters to assist in Pacific soft power push

Ramping up its soft power campaign to fend off growing Chinese cultural influence across the region, the Albanese government has unveiled a new Indo-Pacific broadcasting strategy.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong has released the Albanese government’s Indo-Pacific broadcast strategy. Picture: AFP

A new multimillion-dollar strategy to broadcast Australia’s most popular television shows in the Indo-Pacific is set to be unveiled as the Albanese government ramps up its soft-power campaign to fend off growing Chinese cultural influence across the region.

Delivering on a promise at the 2022 federal election, the plan – to be released by Foreign Minister Penny Wong on Saturday – aims to encourage ties between Australian and Pacific media outlets while enabling more Pacific Islands peoples to access Australian content.

The government will pour $28.4m across five years into the Pacific-Aus TV initiative, a program that provides broadcasters across the Pacific with hundreds of hours of commercial TV programming.

The funding will maintain licensing to shows including Seven Network soap Home and Away, Nine’s reality competition Lego Masters as well as NRL matches to Pacific broadcasters, in a move designed to build Australia’s international reputation and showcase the nation’s multicultural society.

Access to news and current affairs also will be bolstered, as will efforts to foster Indo-Pacific media capacity and its ties to Australian-based media.

Underpinning the strategy will be a $40.5m five-year investment in the ABC, with the public broadcaster charged with creating additional news content for Pacific audiences.

The ABC also will provide support for media partners in the Pacific, Southeast Asia and South Asia, and boost its radio transmission across the region.

An Indo-Pacific Media Fund will be established, investing in several initiatives including support to Australian Associated Press to provide newswire ser­vices to local news outlets.

China has aggressively expanded its media footprint in the Indo-Pacific region in recent years, funding the training of journalists and providing local outlets with financial support for infrastructure and vehicles. It also has been alleged prominent Solomon Islands newspaper The Solomon Star received Chinese funding in return for favourable coverage, a claim the newspaper has rejected.

Senator Wong said the strategy would deepen Australia’s ties across the Pacific, Southeast Asia and South Asia. “Media plays a crucial role in elevating the voices and perspectives of our region and strengthening democracy,” she said.