Rebekha Sharkie (Mayo, Centre Alliance) Share this | Hansard source

I'm very pleased to support the Radiocommunications Legislation Amendment (Reform and Modernisation) Bill 2020. Australia's radiofrequency spectrum is a critical national resource and it needs a robust and flexible regulatory framework to respond to our evolving communication industries. Our spectrum is estimated to be worth $177 billion over the next 15 years, with ACMA managing more than 170,000 radio communication licences. This legislation is the result of an extensive and exhaustive review—a process that began back in 2014. From this developed a targeted set of amendments which will add flexibility and provide greater certainty.

I'd like to touch on a few of the issues that were raised in the Senate committee inquiry—firstly, the concern that the ABC and the SBS, with their special status as national broadcasters, are not explicitly recognised as vital non-commercial users of the spectrum in the objects of the act. I think this is a flaw. This omission leads to their concerns about how their role as public broadcasters is prioritised by ACMA in the public interest test for the assessment of licence applications and renewals. In light of the budget cuts to our national broadcasters and the intense government scrutiny of the ABC in recent times, I believe it is reasonable for our public broadcasters to seek reassurance that they won't be made to jump any additional hurdles under the new public interest test for long-term licence applications. The ABC and the SBS hold a unique position in Australian society and in our democracy. They should be identified as priority users of our spectrum.

Centre Alliance also maintains that the ABC and the SBS should be adequately funded. The ABC has experienced a 30 per cent fall in funding in real terms since the mid-1980s. Imagine what resources the ABC would have now if they'd received that 8c per day per head of population. In addition to dealing with having less income, the management of the ABC also have to face inquiries into the ABC's charter, its competitive neutrality, its rural services and its scrutiny of government. There is absolutely no question in my mind that, for years, we have seen a war on the ABC by this government. This war has to stop.

Australians are also deeply unhappy about the level of advertising on the SBS. The SBS needs advertising income to support its programming. The ABC and the SBS need at least equal-share access to the spectrum, if not priority access, so they can continue to reach their key audiences in new and innovative ways as technology and viewer tastes evolve. Many people have been emailing me saying they don't want to see so many ads on the SBS. They don't want to see gambling ads on the SBS. But it continues to happen because the SBS needs to receive that revenue in order to operate. I would urge the government to reconsider this matter with respect to the SBS. Viewers don't want to see advertising. In particular, they don't want to see gambling advertising. I would urge the government to better support the SBS so that it doesn't need to have so much advertising.

Another issue raised in submissions to the committee inquiry was that community television should be allowed to continue free to air for the public. There has been a push by this government for the policy, since 2014, that community television would transition to the internet. And yet, there's no real reason for that. There's no real need for that. It doesn't cost the government money. It provides such joy to so many people in my community. They get to watch free-to-air local church services and they get to watch local exercise programs. Community television is just that: it is all about community. I have a fantastic community television station in South Australia. It's Channel 44. It's very well loved. During the COVID pandemic, it actually increased in viewers by 27 per cent—that is, up to 57,000 viewers. As I said, local church services, for people who couldn't attend church, were on for people to watch, still feel part of the community and participate in that church service.

Despite COVID, Channel 44 is creating new television shows. Just recently, Tracey Tito has worked with Channel 44 to create her own fishing show called Just a girl. It's about all women on a fishing boat. They're going out catching in South Australian waters. It's a fantastic show that I really love. I've been out on Tracey's boat, and I'm looking forward to potentially being in one of the episodes in future months, when the weather is good. I love my fishing, as I think everyone in this place knows. This is just another example of the great work that Channel 44 does, so I would say to the minister: 'Be a hero in this place. Be a hero for our community, and actually provide the certainty so they're not begging, cap in hand, year after year, for the continuation of the community television broadcast licence.' The licence is not intended to be used for any other purpose for the next five years, so, why not provide that level of certainty to community television and to our broader community. I think it's incredibly valuable, very well needed, and that's what we're all about in this place: supporting our community.

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