Media owners in Australia could be forced to join a coalition of advertisers and ad agencies in an attempt to stop governmental advertising regulation.

The Advertising Federation of Australia and the Australian Association of National Advertisers have been fighting government attempts to change the current system of advertising self-regulation. The AFA's new federal director, Mark Champion, has stated a coalition of interests, like the one he helped make as head of the Communications Agencies Association of New Zealand, are part of his agenda in Australia, The Australian reported Monday.

The groups face opposition from special interest and community groups calling for the government to regulate advertising, in addition to other non-media related issues, such as marketing food products.

“I think the strength of the unified approach that has been taken in New Zealand has proven its worth in recent times,” Champion is quoted by The Australian as saying. “We share very common interests in terms of the reasons why we're pushed to protect our freedoms to advertise.”