Here is the Challenge

This is the challenge to Senator Conroy.

You say you want more and better quality local content on AU television - here is how to do it.

Instead of rebating $250 million worth of license fees to the commercial television broadcasters - where you know that it will quickly migrate to the pockets of the moguls - use the money to fund some excellent local content.

Do it this way.

* Set up an "Investment Fund" to distribute the money to producers.

* Make sure it is run by competent people - no bureaucrats or jobs for the boys - no ministerial oversight.

* Don't let vested interests drive the process - and keep the States and the major stations away from it.

* Put rules in place to ENSURE that the "product" result is excellent local media content for local consumption.

* Encourage lots of producers to compete for the pool - advertise widely.

* Encourage a large pool of ideas - with no restrictions on ideas.

* No single grant takes all the cake - maximum grant is 1% or thereabouts of the pool.

* Award dollar bonuses to producers who exceed both output quality and quantity.

* Don't dictate content - let the market determine what “excellent local content” is.

* Let the television stations "bid in competition" to take the content - and display it on their channels.

* Their "bid" can be anything - *peanuts*, *dog biscuits*, *ugly pills* or real money - but the highest value bid wins the content.

And then tell us all why this isn't a better option than pushing a quarter of a billion dollars this year into the already bloated pockets of the media moguls?