AAP
Australia's state MPs will come under a new level of scrutiny with the launch of Sky News services in the mainland capitals.
Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan on Friday joined with Foxtel chief executive Kim Williams and Sky News chief executive Angelos Frangopoulos to launch Sky News Brisbane in the Queensland capital.
Adelaide, Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney and Perth channels will go live on November 15, dedicating 24 hours a day to local news, politics, business, sport and weather.
Subscribers will also be able to access live broadcasts of state parliaments.
Mr Swan, who already faces such scrutiny in Canberra, said he looked forward to seeing how his state colleagues fared.
"It's certainly going to put the wood on our state colleagues," he said.
"They will go through a new experience as a consequence of this innovation."
Mr Williams said Brisbane was the "most cabled" city in Australia, with 40 per cent of the city's residents receiving pay TV.
He said Foxtel had expanded from 19 cable channels in 1995 to 180 today, including HD and interactive services, with an estimated eight million viewers.
He said despite globalisation it still remained the case that "all politics is local".