Malarndirri McCarthy (NT, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I, and also on behalf of Senator Xenophon, move:

That the Senate—

(a) affirms its support for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) as the national broadcaster;

(b) calls on the Government to:

  (i) take note of the concerns of Senator McCarthy, Mr Warren Snowdon MP and Mr Luke Gosling MP, and those expressed by other senators and members of the House of Representatives, on the impact of scrapping the ABC's shortwave service in the Northern Territory, and

  (ii) explore all options available to it, including working with the ABC Board and management, to recommence shortwave services to the Northern Territory and the Pacific region as soon as practicable; and

(c) calls on the ABC to:

  (i) recognise that it provides vital services and programs including emergency information to remote communities, pastoral stations, Indigenous rangers, travellers and people who work remotely, as well as people in the Pacific region,

  (ii) recognise that alternative platforms, such as AM/FM radio, digital radio, online streaming and Viewer Access Satellite Television (VAST), are not available to remote listeners in a range of circumstances, and

  (iii) recognise that the provision of digital media services should not undermine the provision of comprehensive broadcasting services to Australians living in remote areas.

Question agreed to.