Mitch Fifield (Victoria, Liberal Party, Manager of Government Business in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

I should indicate that while I recognise that this is entirely a decision of the ABC I think the consultation that the ABC undertook could have been more extensive. Also, the ABC did give a limited period of notice. These are views that I have conveyed to the ABC and I think the ABC has learnt some valuable lessons when it comes to consultation and engagement with rural and regional Australia. I am also pleased that the ABC has now announced that there will be some transitional arrangements to assist people in the Northern Territory who may have been in receipt of shortwave transmissions to use other mechanisms to connect with the ABC as an organisation. I will share some of those in the answer to the next question.