SYDNEY – Bosses of Australia’s media companies, including an arm of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp, have formed an unprecedented front to lobby for changes they say will allow more consolidation and help them compete with internet giants.

This week, in a show of unity, chief executives of companies from radio broadcasters to newspaper publishers joined Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull in Canberra, in a last-ditch effort to swing the upper house, controlled by recalcitrant independent lawmakers.

Like rivals globally, Australia’s media companies have been squeezed by new arrivals and digital advertising.

But they have also been unable to join forces or expand into markets that are off limits because of restrictions on what assets they can own, as they battle online giants like Netflix and Google.

Australia’s “two out of three” rule, which has restricted deals, does not allow one organisation to own all three media in any given city – newspapers, television and radio.

“The whole competitive landscape in which we operate has changed,” said Hugh Marks, chief executive officer of Nine Entertainment.

“Everyone’s kind of had to accept, well, this is all for the good of the industry, as well as being good for our businesses,” he said, referring to the united front.

Peter Tonagh, chief executive of News Corp’s half-owned cable TV company Foxtel, said the proposed changes “aren’t optimal for any of us”, but the industry had embraced compromise because of “what would previously have been unimaginable competition”.

Yet their last-minute push, as Turnbull tries to persuade non-government lawmakers to vote for his package of changes, is not guaranteed to succeed.

The industry and government agree on the package of changes – removing caps on how many assets a single traditional media firm can own, letting cable television bid for some sports rights and cutting broadcast license fees owed by stations to the government.

But they face significant opposition, including from a populist bloc in parliament that wants less funding for the national broadcaster, the Australian Broadcasting Corp.

Reuters