Paul Fletcher (Bradfield, Liberal Party, Minister for Urban Infrastructure and Cities) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I present the explanatory memorandum to this bill and move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

The Broadcasting Legislation Amendment (Digital Radio) Bill 2017 continues the government's commitment to a more streamlined regulatory framework for digital radio. These amendments to the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 and the Radiocommunications Act 1992 further simplify digital radio processes. This includes efficiencies across the planning, licensing and allocation processes making for a more efficient rollout of digital radio services in regional Australia.

The Turnbull government remains committed to removing unnecessary and outdated regulations that hamper the industry from delivering what audiences want. The reform agenda requires continuous effort. Small improvements such as these, over time, will provide a cumulative benefit to industry and consumers. The bill makes a modest but welcome contribution in this regard.

Digital radio is now recognised as an important component of Australia's broadcasting landscape. In the decade since it was legislated, digital radio is now available in all Australian mainland state capital cities—Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney—and planning is being undertaken for permanent digital radio services in Canberra, Darwin and Hobart.

Digital radio is being introduced to Australia in a staged way. Commercial radio broadcasters are the key driver in providing digital radio services in new areas, by targeting those areas where they are most likely to be commercially viable. Digital radio remains a supplementary part of the many broadcasting services available to Australians and the government does not consider a switchover program to be appropriate. The government also considers it important that the radio broadcasting industry remain the key driver in the rollout of digital radio into regional Australia. Nonetheless, the government recognises that it still has a role to play in ensuring that any legislative or regulatory impediments to introduction of digital radio into regional Australia are removed and that the digital radio regulatory regime is working efficiently.

The government acknowledges the ongoing work of industry members of the Digital Radio Planning Committee for Regional Australia. This committee, which is chaired by the Australian Communications and Media Authority, was established following a recommendation of the Digital radio report tabled by this government in July 2015. Committee members include the Department of Communications and the Arts, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, the Special Broadcasting Service, Commercial Radio Australia, the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. The committee has become a critical forum for industry, the regulator and government to plan the future rollout of digital radio in regional Australia. Some of the digital radio issues being addressed in this bill are a direct result of discussions at the planning committee. All the measures in the bill are supported by committee members.

The bill seeks to assist industry to expedite the rollout of digital radio to regional Australia. The bill shortens several legislatively prescribed time frames and removes unnecessary or redundant steps in the digital radio planning and licensing processes. Doing this reduces the overall time and cost for commercial broadcasters who want to roll out digital radio to viable regional markets. These benefits also extend to the community and national broadcasters.

Furthermore, it is important to recognise that radio broadcasters, whether they are located in metropolitan or regional markets, need to be more innovative and responsive to changes in audience demand and listening patterns. While this is a matter for the broadcasters themselves, the government does have a role to play in ensuring the regulatory arrangements reflect the realities of the 21st century broadcasting market.

As part of this role, the government is also introducing a measure in the bill that will implement measures to clarify the calculation of digital radio excess capacity entitlements in the Radiocommunications Act. At present, there is the potential for existing excess capacity entitlements to be extinguished by later excess capacity allocations on foundation multiplexes. The government considers that this is not fair to the digital radio broadcasters who acquired excess capacity by allocation or competitive auction. The proposed measures aim to clarify that existing capacity entitlements allocated to content providers are considered when determining new excess capacity allocations. This will provide certainty to content providers on their existing excess capacity entitlements on foundation digital radio multiplexes, as well as other parties seeking access to excess capacity entitlements.

This bill represents a necessary step in facilitating the rollout of digital radio to regional Australia.

Stephen Jones (Whitlam, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Regional Services, Territories and Local Government) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Broadcasting Legislation Amendment (Digital Radio) Bill 2017, which is before the House, concerns radio services, digital radio services and the regulation thereof, services which have been providing access to news, sport, music and entertainment in Australia for well over 90 years. In fact, radio is the most ubiquitous medium in the country and will remain so for many years to come—it's in our cars and workplaces. One of the strengths of radio as compared to many of its competing media is that you can be listening to radio while performing many other functions, including driving a car.

The introduction of digital radio was designed, as the minister representing the minister said a moment ago, to supplement rather than replace traditional analog AM and FM transmission services. Australia's transition to digital radio is one of the biggest changes to radio since its inception—in fact, since the widespread introduction of FM services in the seventies and early eighties. There are many benefits to digital radio. It has been said before that it provides superior sound and reception. Digital radio signals are compared to the jump up in quality that one gets when changing from playing an album from a cassette or a record to playing it from a CD. There is a significant jump up in the quality of the sound that is able to be transmitted. There's also a significant improvement in terms of the transmission of that signal because of the lessened geographic interference you get from the transmission of a digital signal. There is more listening choice, quite simply, because you can cram the broadcasting of more radio stations over the same spectrum available. That enables one broadcaster, or many, to be broadcasting specialist services in addition to the legacy services within the same spectrum available. It's easier for listeners to tune because you can tune using a radio station's name as opposed to just its call signal. Many of the modern digital radios have rewind, pause and playback facilities which add and enhance services for listeners as well. In many of the modern digital radios now available on the market there's also a data display, enabling broadcasters to put in additional images and text along with the traditional sound transmission. There are benefits. There are benefits to the government as the residual holder of spectrum. It is able to use that spectrum more efficiently. There are benefits to listeners and, of course, there are, at the end of the day, benefits to many broadcasters as well.

Digital radio services from commercial radio broadcasters and national broadcasters have been operating in metropolitan licence areas—Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth—since July 2009. Some designated community radio services also began in these areas a year later, in April 2011. The Australian Communications and Media Authority also authorised trials of DAB+ in Canberra and Darwin, which were being conducted by Commercial Radio Australia. The Canberra trial commenced in July 2010 and the Darwin trial around August 2010. Both trials were extended until 30 June last year, and the authority is now working with industry to facilitate permanent licensing of these trials. The national broadcasting services—ABC and SBS—have been allocated a Foundation Category 3 Digital Radio Multiplex Transmitter Licence for Canberra and Darwin. Those services are expected to be in permanent transmission.

According to ACMA, it's a commercial decision for licensees in regional areas to apply to ACMA to offer digital services. Well, I will have something more to say about this. I'm sure, Deputy Speaker, you have received, as most members in this place have received, many, many representations from constituents who are keen to enjoy the benefits of digital radio in their electorate. If you're not in a metropolitan licence area or Canberra or Darwin, you are not getting that signal, for the most part, and people are keen to get it.

I'll explain what the future looks like. We support the Broadcasting Legislation Amendment (Digital Radio) Bill 2017. Labor has a proud history in the area of rolling out digital radio in Australia. It was Kim Beazley, the Minister for Transport and Communications back in 1991, who declared that industry should not ignore the potential of the technologies looming on the horizon. He was talking about digital radio as an emerging technology in Europe. At the time, he said that Australia would be more than ready when cheap receivers would allow them to hear CD-quality radio via digital audio broadcasting. Australia and Australians would be more than ready to reap the benefits of that. A few years later, in 1995, the then Minister of Communications and the Arts, Michael Lee, established the digital radio advisory committee and announced that the first station experiments with digital broadcasting would commence in 1996 in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne. Around the same time, Telstra was involved as a GBE in digital radio broadcasting trials in both Melbourne and Sydney—essentially to test the multiplex technology management. The next 20 years saw a continued process of planning and trials and the development of a policy regulatory framework until finally, in 2009, digital radio commenced in mainland state capitals.

The next step, Labor believes, is to see the benefits of digital radio extended into regional Australia. This involves significant cost and complexity, and it is being planned by the Digital Radio Planning Committee for Regional Australia, which was formed in September 2015 following a federal government review of digital radio. That was a statutory review required under section 215B of the Broadcasting Services Act and section 313B of the Radio Communications Act—a requirement under that act that a review of the digital radio rollout be conducted.

The measures that are before the House today are modest. They enjoy our support. The measures arise from that 2015 report that was published by the government. One of the digital radio report's recommendations was that the government consider a range of minor amendments to the existing digital radio regulatory regime to create a simpler, more flexible process for the planning and licensing of digital radio and associated technology in regional Australia. The measures in the bill attempt to do that. I don't want to overstate the force that the measures in this bill will have on the impact of the digital rollout in regional areas. The bill's measures include removing the requirement that ACMA give written notice of its intention to declare a digital radio start-up day. We agree with that—it's not a significant amendment; we agree with it. It also has a provision which would remove specific requirements under the Broadcasting Services Act that ACMA consult before preparing or varying digital radio channel plans, given that there are already general consultation requirements within the Legislation Act 2003. So we support that.

As to shortening time frames associated with the formation of eligible joint venture companies and clarifying the invitation acceptance processes for the formation of such companies: we support that. As to shortening time frames associated with the formation of digital community radio broadcasting representative companies: again, we support that. Shortening time frames associated with the issuing of a foundation digital radio multiplex transmitter, otherwise known as a DRMT, licence: again, we support that, and shortening time frames associated with the DRMT licensees, giving the ACCC access undertakings. And, finally, we support clarifying how the multiplex capacity on foundation DRMT licences are determined. All of these are modest but sensible reforms and we will be supporting them.

Labor supports the bill, but I do not want to overstate the impact that these measures are going to have on rolling out digital radio in regional Australia. These will be, essentially, commercial decisions that are going to be made by commercial broadcasters in broadcast areas. We encourage these broadcasters to work together to ensure that we can be investing in the multiplex and other technology that is going to be necessary for transmitting these services in regional areas. We encourage them to work together. Government does have a role, and, previously, Labor governments have shown themselves willing to assist industry in the rollout of technologies in this area. But I just want to say quite clearly to everyone in my electorate and to all the Labor members who regularly approach me about their constituents who are calling for the rollout of digital technology in their area: these are sensible moves, but they're not going to move a mountain when it comes to rolling out digital radio in regional Australia. A lot more needs to be done to ensure that that occurs. I commend the bill to the House.

Debate adjourned.