Bob Baldwin (Paterson, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Defence Science and Personnel) Share this | Hansard source

With all due respect, Madam Deputy Speaker, when I started speaking, I talked about the need for the director to have technical abilities as outlined in the bill to understand the new and emerging technologies such as digital transmission, and it is the lack of ABC transmission and SBS transmission under digital in the areas which I am referring to. So I will continue.

One particular reason areas in Paterson, in particular Port Stephens and the Great Lakes, are such large centres is tourism. Beautifully situated on the coast, these regions rely on tourists to help make businesses of all sizes a success. This in turn has created employment opportunities which support a great majority of my constituents and provide the means for them to raise healthy families. As I have already mentioned, Port Stephens is just a couple of hours drive from Sydney, so a large portion of this tourist market is directed towards city residents who are keen to escape for a break that is not too far from home. Imagine their surprise when these city residents arrive at their destination only to discover they cannot keep up to date with what is happening by watching the news and they cannot relax and enjoy the seasonal finals of the tennis or cricket. These same people are normally accustomed to watching not only the major free-to-air channels but also the supplementary digital services such as ABC2 and ABC3 which are now available.

The areas along the Hunter coast offer everything from beautiful beaches and fantastic surf and fishing to some of the best food and wine to be found anywhere in the world. The cherry on top of this award-winning pie surely, then, should be fantastic technological access—clear, uninterrupted, wide-ranging television services which are available to tourists and residents alike. This government owes it to tourism operators who support jobs, support our way of life and bring millions of dollars into our economy each year.

What this really boils down to is the basic responsibility the government has to provide television access, including local information and entertainment. It was not enough for the Prime Minister to promise an upgraded digital network. No, instead he announced a revolution in television—the shutdown of the analog transmission many of my constituents rely on. It is now time for the Prime Minister to put his words into action and make the digital network truly ready as he continually asks my constituents to do through advertising.

I have made this as easy as possible for the Prime Minister and Minister Conroy. Since complaints have started to filter into my office, I have kept track of where each complaint is from and I have identified a number of specific black spots. I am only too happy to provide this list to the minister so that the rollout of new technology can be as swift and accurate as possible. I would also be more than willing to meet with the minister to explain the particular issues in my electorate. My only concern is ensuring local constituents get the television reception they deserve and they pay for. It certainly does not seem like too much to ask for a major regional centre.

It is now up to the government to take action on behalf of Australian residents, and on behalf of all those people who live and work in Paterson. Action, though, is not the Prime Minister’s strong point. This has been demonstrated a number of times, such as when our proud Prime Minister wasted $800 million on a blow-out of the digital education revolution—with a promise to deliver a laptop to every senior high school student. The majority are still waiting. I sincerely and desperately hope I will not be saying the same thing about digital television services.

In the latest fact sheet I received from the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, the minister promises that for most people the switch from analog to digital TV will be relatively straightforward and will deliver a number of benefits. So far, the switch has been anything but straightforward, and I fear it could leave many people actually worse off than they currently are. In this case, I wait eagerly to be proven wrong.

In summary, with any appointment to the board of the ABC or SBS, there needs to be a broad mix of people. There need to be people who understand the technological challenges not just of Sydney or Melbourne but also of the people who rely so heavily on these services, and those are the people in rural and regional communities. I have been very concerned with the way this bill has been put forward, and look forward to the amendments to be put forward by the shadow minister.

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