Nick Minchin (SA, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

by leave—I move opposition amendments (1) to (3) on sheet 5665-revised together:

(1)    Schedule 2, page 4 (after line 13), after item 3, insert:

3A Clause 2 of Schedule 4

Insert:

minimum analog switch-off readiness criteria has the meaning given by clause 5G.

(2)    Schedule 2, page 5 (after line 32), after item 4, insert:

4A At the end of Part 1 of Schedule 4

Add:

5G Minimum analog switch-off readiness criteria

        (1)    The Minister must, by legislative instrument, determine minimum analog switch-off readiness criteria.

        (2)    The Minister must make a determination under subclause (1) within 6 months of the day on which this Act receives the Royal Assent.

        (3)    A determination made under subclause (1) must include criteria against which the television broadcasting services in each local market area can be objectively assessed, to determine whether the following objectives can be met:

             (a)    that the transmission of broadcasting services should achieve the same level of coverage and potential reception quality after digital television switch-over as was achieved by the transmission of those service in that area prior to switch-over; and

             (b)    that all households which received free to air television coverage in analog mode should be able to receive the same level of coverage after switch-over; and

             (c)    that adequate measures have been taken to assist household readiness for analog switch-off, as indicated by household take-up of equipment capable of receiving digital terrestrial free to air television transmission and awareness of analog switch-off and of methods to convert to digital.

Assessment against readiness criteria

        (4)    In relation to each local market area determined under paragraph 5F(1)(a), the Minister must cause a report to be prepared assessing the local market area against the minimum analog switch-off readiness criteria.

        (5)    The Minister must cause any report prepared in accordance with subsection (4) to be published on the department’s website not less than 6 months prior to the time determined for that area to become a digital-only local market area.

        (6)    If a report prepared under subsection (4) discloses that the readiness criteria have not been met for a local market area, the Minister must cause to be published, within 30 days of the publication of the report, a plan to ensure that:

             (a)    the criteria are met by the time determined for that area to become a digital-only local market area; or

             (b)    the time determined for that area to become a digital-only local market area is extended until the criteria are met; or

             (c)    each of the national television broadcasters and commercial television broadcasting licensees for the local market area and the Digital Switchover Taskforce notify the Minister in writing of their agreement that the time should not be varied.

(3)    Schedule 2, page 5 (after line 32), after item 4, insert:

4B At the end of Part 1 of Schedule 4

5H Reports on transmission blackspots

                 On the first sitting day of each House of the Parliament after each 1 January, 1 April, 1 July and 1 October after the making of the first determination under subclause 5G(1), until 1 September 2014, the Minister must cause a report to be laid before each House of the Parliament containing the following information:

             (a)    action taken to identify and rectify digital transmission infrastructure that would otherwise prevent the transmission of free to air television broadcasting services in SDTV digital mode in any area achieving the same level of coverage and potential reception quality as was achieved by the transmission of those services in analog mode; and

             (b)    the local market areas and regions where digital transmission issues have been identified and how many households will be affected.

We heard from the minister in his second reading speech an outline of the problem that we want to address. The trouble with the government’s approach to this—and remember that the view about the need to switch over is essentially bipartisan—is that it is very much one of: ‘We know best. Just take us on trust and she’ll be right.’ You have to remember that the government has now announced that it is going to be regional and rural Australia that are going to be switched off first, leaving metropolitan Australia for last. We understand that; we are not objecting to that. We are saying to the people of regional and rural Australia that, in 12 months time, they face the loss of their analog signal, but the government is saying to them: ‘We’re going to switch it off regardless. We’re not going to pay any attention in fact and explicitly to whether or not everybody in an area has the capacity internally to receive a digital signal or indeed whether there are transmissions difficulties. Just trust us; take it. We’re just going to switch it off.’

We are not prepared to support that sort of approach. This is all about the viewers. What is this about? It is about enabling viewers to get better TV. I have Fox iQ2—no doubt the minister has as well. It is fantastic; I agree with you—digital TV is brilliant.