![NSW local government minister and Goulburn MP Wendy Tuckerman and Labor candidate for Goulburn, Michael Pilbrow, say regional newspapers are important. Pictures by Louise Thrower. NSW local government minister and Goulburn MP Wendy Tuckerman and Labor candidate for Goulburn, Michael Pilbrow, say regional newspapers are important. Pictures by Louise Thrower.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/FkT3ZusFw5YrTvZCipmLUF/0f6dba8b-3414-46d7-8720-454dd142df28.jpg/r0_8_1720_979_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Goulburn MP Wendy Tuckerman has not committed to lobbying for a law change, compelling councils to advertise public notices in local newspapers.
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Mrs Tuckerman, also the local government minister, was responding to Australian Community Media's campaign, Your Paper in Peril. The company publishes The Goulburn Post and more than 170 regional and rural newspapers.
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In the election lead-up, ACM is calling on Premier Dominic Perrottet and Labor opposition leader, Chris Minns to take "the Dan Andrews pledge." It asks them to follow the Victorian premier's lead and guarantee a full page of government advertising in every regional newspaper weekly.
The campaign also asks them to reverse the 2020 regulatory changes, allowing councils to "bury public notices about their decisions on their websites, rather than advertise them in local papers."
The legislation was introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic as a cost saving measure.
In a submission to last year's parliamentary inquiry, ACM stated that this had stripped more than $2 million in annual revenue from the dozens of newspapers.
The Goulburn Post asked the seat's Liberal and Labor candidates whether the next NSW Premier should take the pledge and if councils should be required to notify ratepayers of notices in newspapers.
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Mrs Tuckerman responded in her capacity as local government minister. In a statement, she said the government recognised the importance of regional media in ensuring communities had access to trusted news sources covering issues that mattered to them.
"That's why NSW government agencies are required to spend at least 26 per cent of their campaign media expenditure on media platforms targeting regional audiences for advertising campaigns of relevance to regional and remote communities," a spokesperson said.
"This ensures important government messages for regional NSW are targeted to the communities they are speaking to.
"We want a strong regional media - and in line with this the government's recently announced a new $3 million Regional Media Fund. This fund will assist regional media outlets to drive innovation, tell stories in new ways and ensure that our communities have access to the news and information they need about the issues affecting them.
"The 2020 changes give councils greater flexibility in the way they publish certain notices, recognising changes to the media landscape and allowing individual councils rather than government to make the decision on how to communicate most effectively with their communities."
A spokesperson for Labor candidate for Goulburn, Michael Pilbrow, said the party was developing a position.
"NSW Labor know the importance of regional and community media. We will have more to say on this soon," his spokesperson said.
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