The former Prime Minister Keating calls Nine and the merger with Fairfax Media "appalling"

The competition watchdog decided that the $ 4 billion merger could be undertaken after reviewing more than 1,000 submissions, as well as the documents it had requested from Fairfax and Nine Entertainment.

However, former Prime Minister Paul Keating called the go-ahead for "really appalling decision," while the media union said it was a blow to media diversity.

The Australian Commission for Competition and Consumers believed that this measure would likely reduce competition in the country's news content market, but not enough to break the law.

The number of major media players will increase from five to four, said ACCC President Rod Sims Thursday, adding that this would "exacerbate the problem" of media ownership concentration in Australia.

But he added that new players such as Buzzfeed and The Guardian would enter the market and help offset this loss.

"If you talk to people the way they get their news now, it comes from more sources than we have ever had before," Sims told reporters in Melbourne.

Mr. Sims stated that it was "simply unclear" how Fairfax would handle his badociation with Nine, thus taking the latter's name.

However, former Labor Prime Minister Keating believes that some things are not going in the right direction, accusing ACCC of registering the keys to the Fairfax key in Channel Nine's "ethical trash".

"This will poison quality journalism, but more than that, remove from the political debate fragments of specific local political issues, normally covered by newspapers," he said.

The Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance is also concerned that the approval of the ACCC will reduce the coverage of issues of national interest.

Shortly after approval, Fairfax Chief Greg Hywood informed staff that the merger would be officially completed by December 10th.

Nine announced the date of December 7, but the two deadlines depend on the approval of the merger by Fairfax shareholders at a November 19 meeting and in court on November 27.

"The directors of Fairfax unanimously recommended that Fairfax shareholders vote in favor of the program, in the absence of a superior proposal," Nine said in a statement.

The merger comes after the media ownership laws were changed in October 2017, allowing one owner to control more than two out of three platforms – television, radio or newspaper – in an authorized market.

After Nine and Fairfax proposed the measure in July, Communications Minister Mitch Fifield said the changes to the law were necessary to give media organizations the best chance of survival.

Union leader Bill Shorten is concerned about the journalism jobs that could be lost as a result of ACCC's decision, noting that the country does not need less media ownership.

"I am extremely skeptical about the merits of this decision," he told reporters.