Media more competitive now: Turnbull

Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull has questioned the need for media ownership reform given that the internet has probably made the industry more competitive than ever before.

Current media ownership regulations go back to the 1990s and pre-date the internet era, he said on Monday.

"I think it is very clear ... that the media is more competitive now than it has been at any time in any of our life times," he told a lunchtime function at a conference in Canberra.

"(The internet) has revolutionised, and in some areas devastated, media businesses."

The government has a big reform agenda on its plate but change is a lot easier to achieve if there is a degree of unanimity, Mr Turnbull said.

"If there is a pitched battle, that makes it harder," he told Australian National University's Crawford Leadership Forum.