The Prime Minister has indicated the government could shelve proposed media reforms if the Liberal party fails to reach an agreement with rebel coalition senators.

John Howard says “.. people should understand that media reform has always been to me a second order issue. What [that] means is that there are more important things to the Australian public.”

The government has postponed the debate in parliament while National Party senators thrash out a deal this afternoon, with the possibility of a compromise some time tomorrow.

Senators Barnaby Joyce and Fiona Nash are threatening to withdraw their support from the changes if local content rules are not included in the legislation.

Reports leaking out of the meeting this afternoon indicate the senators may also be demanding single voice ownership limits, whereby an owner of a radio station would be barred from owning a newpaper or television station in a small market.

The Minister for Communications Helen Coonan has already gone on the record saying that a “two out of three” limit may be a possibility, however the senators’ view of limiting ownership to just one voice per market would have massive ramifications for the current regime.