Scott Ludlam (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

Actually, the issue that I addressed and my understanding of the area of spectrum that these organisations are most concerned about is in the 700-megahertz band, so it is well outside 400 megahertz. They are seeking a 20-megahertz slice of that spectrum, which, as I understand it, for technical reasons—and this is obviously not my specific area of expertise—carries further. It is a better piece of spectrum for the kind of equipment that these people seek to operate in that it can penetrate buildings and so on and not be subject to rain, other weather conditions or that kind of thing.

The question I put to you, and I would be happy if you could just give us a yes or no answer, is this: is the government committed to resolving these issues through the roundtable process that you have established prior to undertaking the auction—that is, will you commit to ensuring that the organisa­tions that you are with now at the table will have their concerns addressed before you give up that slice of what is effectively taxpayers property?