No barriers to Fairfax-Nine merger: Govt

There appear to be no immediate barriers to the merger between Fairfax Media and the Nine Network, Communications Minister Mitch Fifield says.

Senator Fifield says the deal looks to be in accord with the new media laws, which came in last year, aimed at ensuring Australian media businesses aren't pushed out by international competitors.

"We can't pretend we're still in the 1980s. We can't pretend the internet doesn't exist," Senator Fifield told reporters in Melbourne on Thursday.