SYDNEY, July 2 (Reuters) - New Zealand's conservative

coalition government will proceed with a bill that would make it

compulsory for digital technology platforms to pay media

companies for news, it said on Tuesday.

The bill is being introduced as New Zealand media companies

struggle against technology firms for advertising dollars,

leading them to find new ways to provide news programming.

The Fair Digital News Bargaining Bill, introduced last year

by the previous Labour government, will be presented in

Parliament with amendments to support "our local media companies

to earn revenue for the news they produce", Communications

Minister Paul Goldsmith said.

The proposed changes would align it more closely with

Australia's digital bargaining law, Goldsmith said.

That law, which took effect in Australia in March 2021,

gives the government power to force internet firms such as

Facebook owner Meta Platforms ( META ) and Alphabet Inc's ( GOOG )

Google to negotiate content supply deals with media

outlets, if the parties fail to reach an agreement on payments.

Meta and Google did not immediately respond to requests

seeking comment on the proposed law in New Zealand.

After Canada introduced a similar law in 2023, Meta blocked

news content from appearing on Facebook there. Meta has also

said it plans to stop paying Australian media companies for news

and the government is still considering whether to intervene.

Goldsmith said the proposed changes would give power to the

communications minister to decide which digital platforms would

come under the law. An independent regulator will be appointed

as the bill's authority, he said.

One of the governing coalition's partners, the right-wing

ACT New Zealand party, will not support the bill, Goldsmith

said, which means it must have the support of other parties to

pass.

The opposition Labour party said it would check the

amendments but support the intent of the bill.