Doubts over media law reforms Not for turning: Stephen Conroy. The Gillard government's long-awaited reforms to media laws appear destined to fail after it deferred a range of promised changes, refused to negotiate on those it did commit to, and gave Parliament just two weeks to pass the legislation. As the opposition accused Communications Minister Stephen Conroy of holding a gun to Parliament's head, the tight deadline for passage of the complex changes has raised suspicions that even the government is not committed to their success. The reforms, which stop short of some of the more radical recommendations from the Finkelstein review a year ago, include a public interest test on media mergers to be administered by a government-appointed bureaucrat dubbed the "public interest advocate." The package includes stronger self-regulation of ethical and professional standards by newspapers, and cuts to the licence fees of commercial TV broadcasters. But stronger protection for individuals subject to intrusive media reporting, through the introduction of a "tort" of privacy, have not been included. It has been referred to the Australian Law Reform Commission. Senator Conroy hesitated on one of the most contentious parts of the reform agenda, his preference for scrapping the so-called "reach rule" which limits the reach of any broadcaster to a maximum of 75 per cent of the market. Abolishing this law would allow the Nine Network to go ahead with a $4 billion merger with the regional broadcaster, Southern Cross Media, but in the past few weeks the Seven and Ten networks have had second thoughts about dropping the rule, despite previously agreeing to its demise. That aspect will be included in the final legislative package only if it is recommended by a super-quick parliamentary committee. On Tuesday Senator Conroy said the government had tried to strike a balance between protecting a free press and ensuring the media operated in the public interest. "We are not prepared to barter this bill," he said, adding that if he did not get the needed support from the Coalition, Greens or crossbenchers, it would be scrapped. These reforms will ensure for the Australian public a media sector that is fair, diverse and able to tackle the challenges of the future. Opposition communications spokesman Malcolm Turnbull said the proposals were "bad law" and vowed to block them now or repeal them if elected. "It is an attempt to regulate the media because they don't like what you have been saying and writing about them," he told reporters. We're told we've got to pass it in less than two weeks, with a sort of a gun held to the Parliament's head. He said there was more diversity now thanks to the internet, blogs and social media, than in the past. Tasmanian independent MP Andrew Wilkie said he had not seen the legislation so was yet to decide his position but already had serious concerns. NSW independent Rob Oakeshott also signalled his opposition unless changes were made.. As well as approving mergers and acquisitions, the "public interest advocate" would oversee the existing press councils and judge whether media companies met their own standards. Curbing an often critical media has been a preoccupation of some Labor MPs such as John Murphy from NSW and the NSW senator Doug Cameron. Both have voiced concerns about the political attitude of Rupert Murdoch and the extensive influence of his family. But Mr Murphy said he was confident from Mr Conroy's presentation that Mr Murdoch would not be able to expand his media empire.