Ian Macdonald (Queensland, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Senator Wortley has just come in, which is good to see. So we will have some Labor contribution to the debate on this very important legislation. This legislation ensures that digital radio services will be able to commence by 1 January 2009. Digital radio has the potential to deliver a range of new and innovative services to listeners, and its introduction will enable the industry to respond to increasing competition from the new digital platforms, such as the internet and mobile phones. Digital radio does provide listeners with a rich and more diverse radio offering than is possible with the analog mode, enabling listeners to easily rewind and record radio broadcasts; to access streaming, text, news and weather updates; and to access play lists and still pictures. So it is a real advance, and I congratulate our government and the minister for looking forward and introducing these things.

I have mentioned radio in analog mode, as it now is, going into digital, and it does remind me about the absolute mess the Labor Party oversaw when the mobile phone network was being changed from analog to digital. As I recall it, one day we all had analog phones and the next day, under the Labor administration, those phones were practically cut off overnight—without any transition period. It really showed quite clearly that, as with the economy, the Labor Party talk a lot but when it comes to doing things—when they were in a position to do things—they are missing in action. Their record in dealing with the telephone system would make it very difficult to have any regard for them when they make all of these very attractive announcements to voters about broadband and other things. I urge Australians to look at the Labor Party’s record in office rather than the promises they make in the run-up to an election.

I have had some concerns about the legislation before us, as I have had concerns about other broadcasting legislation that has come before the parliament this year. I have been concerned about the narrow opportunity that the Senate has had to look at this legislation and previous legislation. I am grateful to the minister’s office and the minister’s department for answering some of the queries raised by the Senate Standing Committee on Environment, Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, which inquired into this legislation. I think the answers that the committee has received are sufficient to enable me to be satisfied. I will of course be supporting this legislation.

I do want to take a few moments of the Senate’s time to indicate the concern I have about how this legislation might impact on rural and regional Australia. I note that the ABC, in their submission to the committee, had some concerns about the legislation. Whether you like the ABC or whether you do not like them, they do cover almost 99 per cent of the Australian population. They made a submission that indicated they had a concern that the legislation does not stipulate a standard for digital radio in rural and regional Australia.  Their submission states:

… In the absence of a second digital radio standard for regional areas, no incentives currently exist for manufacturers to consider the need for such multi-format receivers …

The concern is that, if left too late, the introduction of a DRM standard for regional broadcasting would find a significant number of DAB-only receivers already in the market. If you understand this a fraction better than I do, you will understand that DAB is the standard that will well look after city Australia and DRM is the preferable standard for rural and regional Australia. The ABC had a concern that we should be going to the DRM standard at this time. The committee raised this issue with the minister and the department and there was a response received that I believe indicated that the matter is in the consideration of the department. I will come to that very shortly.

The other issue that I wanted to briefly raise at this point was that Broadcast Australia made a submission suggesting that the digital receivers should be of a DAB+ configuration, which, according to Broadcast Australia, is a 2007 technology rather than a 1990s technology—which the DAB standard is. I understand that this has been taken into account by the minister and the department in their consideration of these particular issues. As the committee reported, there was broad agreement from all submissions that DAB was the most appropriate technology through which to operate digital radio in Australia. However, there is a recognition that DAB alone will not provide for full national coverage. The explanatory memorandum to the bill recognises this reality and indicates that the government will continue to monitor developments with digital radio techniques, including DRM, to determine whether supplementary platforms may be appropriate to address regional, rural and remote coverage issues.

As I mentioned, the ABC was of the view that an additional digital radio standard that is appropriate for the wide area coverage of rural and remote Australia should be adopted before the provisions of the bill came into effect. I refer senators to page 9 of the Senate committee’s report, where the ABC submission is set out. It is a submission which attracted my attention and one that I was very keen to pursue in the interests of rural and regional Australia. I understand the arguments of the department that the way that it is being approached is the best way and that there are opportunities for the introduction of enhancements as time goes by. Again I say that it is a complex issue and that people not qualified in the technical broadcast area—like me—should be careful about making too deliberative comments about this. But I take this opportunity in what I thought would be a very brief contribution to the debate to emphasise to the minister—and I know that the minister is very well aware of this—that in everything that we do in broadcasting we have to remember that a fair percentage of Australians do live outside the capital cities and the major regional cities, and particularly in my state of Queensland, which is the most decentralised state.

There are not many people in this chamber, unfortunately, who live in the bush, as I do. Very often, things do get overlooked or, when they are not overlooked, advice is taken from people who do not really understand what is happening in the bush at the time. I am satisfied, following my investigations and following the Senate committee’s investigations into these issues, that the government has considered these issues and that there are procedures and allowances within the legislation to address them should they become a problem in the future. But I wanted to take the opportunity of emphasising again that in everything our government or any government does we should be very aware that Australia is a vast country and that there are a lot of us who live in rural and regional Australia. A lot of us sometimes think that we are not as well considered as perhaps we should be. That is particularly so in the state government area, where the Beattie government is totally concentrated on south-east Queensland and could not give one iota of care about the rest of us in Queensland. Our government has been very good with rural and regional Australia. There have been a lot of initiatives from our government for rural and regional Australia, and there were a lot more announced in the budget last night. In the broadcast and information technology area, a lot of work has been done. But we have to make sure that we get it right. I urge the minister to ensure that her department—

Debate interrupted.