Nick Xenophon (SA, Nick Xenophon Team) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I introduced the Australian Broadcasting Corporation Amendment (Restoring Shortwave Radio) Bill 2017 a number of weeks ago. This bill is in direct response to the decision of the ABC's board and management to cease its short-wave transmission radio service to international audiences and to the Northern Territory on 31 January 2017. The purpose of this bill is to require the Australian Broadcasting Corporation to restore its short-wave transmission services, following an announcement by the ABC in December 2016 that it would end its short-wave transmission services in the NT. Indeed, because of the nature of short wave, those broadcasts actually went to the far north of South Australia, north of Coober Pedy, in the Pit lands. I imagine there would also have been parts of Queensland and the far north-east of Western Australia that would have benefited from this as well.

The decision was a bad decision because the ABC's short-wave transmission service is the only option for many people who live, work in and travel through rural and remote communities, including in the Northern Territory, South Australia, Western Australia and Queensland. It is a vital service for emergency broadcasts, for news and for weather forecasts. Short-wave transmissions are reliable, are long range and are not interrupted by adverse weather conditions, unlike FM radio. For the ABC to say, as it did in the course of this inquiry: 'You can get your ABC app,'—hello!—the fact is that, unless you have online coverage in the middle of nowhere, where there isn't any mobile coverage, or unless you use satellite, which can be expensive, that is a fanciful suggestion.

The decision to cease the short-wave transmission service from the Northern Territory will mean ABC programs from Radio National and ABC local radio will no longer be available to those in vehicles and with portable radios in the remote parts of Australia referred to, including the top two-thirds of South Australia. It will also significantly impact on our near neighbours in the region, where these broadcasts have been a reliable source of news and current affairs, including emergency information.

Ceasing these broadcasts diminishes Australia's role in the region. In relation to that—and I acknowledge that this is a matter for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to deal with—why is it that we have cut our short-wave services to our near neighbours in the Asia-Pacific when China, for instance, is doing the smart thing by expanding its short-wave coverage, by investing heavily in short wave, as are other countries? That footprint is a form of soft diplomacy that is very effective and that wins over hearts and minds in countries in the region. It seems a foolish and retrograde step from a foreign affairs perspective to retreat from the region, from our near neighbours, when other countries such as China are doing the smart thing and expanding their short-wave footprint in those regions. For instance, short-wave radio played a valuable role in providing information to communities during the civil disturbance that occurred in East Timor in the lead-up to independence. Short-wave radio was absolutely fundamental during the cyclone in Vanuatu. No less a person than the Prime Minister of Vanuatu, the Hon. Charlot Salwai, outlined how the people of Vanuatu relied on short-wave radio when Cyclone Pam struck in 2015. Prime Minister Salwai stated in his submission:

In times of crisis when other forms of media like FM and digital services are damaged or unavailable such communities rely on broadcasts safely transmitted from outside the disaster zone. This is exactly the role Radio Australia shortwave broadcasts played during Cyclone Pam.

… people around our nation relied on Radio Australia's shortwave broadcasts to stay up-to-date about the cyclone's progress and they took the thorough and expert advice on the shortwave service very seriously indeed. It is undoubtedly the case that Radio Australia's shortwave service helped save Ni-Vanuatu lives.

It is unusual to get the Prime Minister of another nation to put in a submission to a Senate inquiry. It happened in this case because the Prime Minister of Vanuatu said that this is a big deal. Effectively, he was saying these short-wave broadcasts saved lives.

Leaving aside the issue of emergency broadcasts, having that Australian voice in the region—I think it was broadcast in pidgin, as well—through those short-wave broadcasts, builds good and strong relationships with our near neighbours. It builds good and strong relationships that lead to further strong bilateral relationships, further trade, economic development and strengthening our neighbours. It is a good thing for Australia to have strong and stable neighbours.

So I do not understand why the ABC board did this—and it is not a criticism of the government as such, because it was the ABC board that did this. I understand issues of editorial independence very much and I value that independence. But it seems that the ABC board made a decision to reallocate resources to digital services in capital cities. It made a decision that ignores the bush. It made a decision that actually means that we are going backwards in terms of our relationship with our near neighbours and for all those Australian expats who live in our near neighbours. So this has been a bad move. This is not about compromising the ABC's editorial independence. We are not telling the ABC what they should put in their broadcasts. We are just saying: you need to reallocate some resources so that we have this valuable service for the bush and for our near neighbours.

Truck drivers use the short-wave service on their regular trips from Adelaide to Darwin and back. Having no access prevents these drivers from having easy access to essential news, emergency announcements and weather information. It was Gary Williams, a long-haul truck driver based in Adelaide, who alerted me to this issue some months ago, and I thank Gary very much for that. He does about 40 trips each year from Adelaide to Darwin and is one of the thousands of people who relied on the ABC short-wave service. In the context of Senator McKenzie's bill, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation Amendment (Rural and Regional Advocacy) Bill, Gary responded to the ABC's suggested remedy—that is, to go online—by plainly and simply stating: 'Mobile phone coverage only covers about 2,200 kilometres of the round trip. We are told by the people at the ABC that you can access the ABC via the app on your phone or over the internet or by the VAST satellite service. It's physically impossible—you just cannot do it.'

That brings in the question of those remote communities, particularly Indigenous communities, that will miss out on that short-wave broadcast because they are simply out of reach, particularly when they are on the road. Of course, if you have an antenna or digital coverage, you can get that coverage, but, if you're in a remote area and you're on the road, you're not going to get it. You can buy these portable short-wave radios. I think they are about 50 bucks and you can fit them into your truck. I think most truckies nowadays have that short-wave service. They won't be able to get Radio Australia. They'll be able to get Radio China's English language service or other countries' services, but not ours. And that is wrong.

This is an important piece of legislation for those people who live and work in and travel through rural and remote areas of Australia. That is why I urge my colleagues in the Senate to support it. I think that we could have an alternative approach—because it is all about finding a solution here—and that the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade needs to look at this seriously, because a very small investment of several million dollars a year would make a big difference in terms of our footprint in the Asia-Pacific, and we have already shrunk that footprint over the years.

Radio Australia does terrific work. Their program Pacific Beat, for instance, is highly regarded and highly respected in the region. It seems a terrible decision has been made by the ABC board here, and this bill seeks to remedy that.

A committee inquired into this and made a report. That was a very useful exercise. The report deals with the size of the ABC short-wave audience prior to shutdown. The ABC suggested the size was relatively small. Others suggested that the ABC had significantly underestimated the size. What is clear is that there was no serious effort made to actually measure audience size. I am of the view, considering all of the evidence, that the audience size was much larger than the ABC calculated. There are literally hundreds, if not thousands, of truck drivers driving in those remote areas who use short wave. I know you can't respond from the chair, Mr Acting Deputy President Sterle, so a nod will suffice; it is quite disorderly, I know. My understanding is that, if you're a long distance truckie, it doesn't cost much more to get short wave added to your truck. That's what Gary Williams and, I believe, others do. It is pretty much a standard feature. If you are out in the bush, you get short wave as well. He can get China Radio International but he cannot get Radio Australia.

I think there are some question marks over the methodology used by the ABC in relation to this. There are some real issues in terms of ignoring concerns from the bush and, given the benefits to those Australians in remote areas and in the Asia-Pacific, it has been a bad call. I think it's worth reflecting on the issue of the international significance of that. We heard from Mr Dobell, who has particular expertise in foreign affairs issues. I think Mr Dobell is with ASPI, but I don't have that information in front of me. He does have a history of being involved in diplomacy and in these issues. He said:

… My understanding of China's shortwave investment is that it is taking up as many of allotments of shortwave frequencies and shortwave slots as it possibly can. Its investment in broadcasting is ratcheting up at a very large rate. So my answer is that China is investing in shortwave in a big way.

1.20 As Australia ramps down, China is filling the void.

That is a mistake. The other aspect of this is the international charter of the ABC. We heard from Mr Daniel Sloper, First Assistant Secretary, Pacific Division at Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. He said:

We made clear to the ABC that we want them to continue to meet their international charter, that they need to continue coverage within the region, but we have not given a particular view about shortwave itself. We have left the decision about the technology to the ABC. We do not have the expertise on the particular technology.

That is fair enough, but they understand the importance of it. If you're in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea or on a remote island, there is no FM or digital coverage, and if you are on the move, short wave is the best way of getting information. If there has been a power blackout and towers have come down, short wave is the best alternative by far. The fact that there is now digital short wave shows you how technology has evolved in relation to this. We heard from Mr Gary Cratt, the director of Tecsun Radios Australia, a company that imports and resells portable short-wave receivers. He provided a very useful and contemporary analysis of the audience derived from his extensive customer contact. You can buy short-wave receivers for $50. It is quite inexpensive.

This is important for the bush. This is important for our near neighbours. This is important in the context of the ABC's charter obligations to all Australians and its international obligations. A massive mistake was made. I want to pay tribute to those members of parliament from the Northern Territory who have been very outspoken on this issue, and those from both sides of politics who are very concerned about the impact of this.

I commend this bill to my colleagues. It is an important issue, and it is not too late to restart those short-wave services. The content is there. We just need the medium in which to get it out there both to those remote communities in Australia and to our near neighbours.

Bridget McKenzie (Victoria, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am an ardent supporter of the public broadcaster—the ABC—and its role in our rural and regional communities. Its independence needs to be protected to ensure that it can make operational and editorial decisions free from public interference or influence. The ABC is critical in providing news, information, current affairs, weather and emergency service broadcasts to those of us that live and work in regional Australia. However, being independent doesn't mean you should be beyond scrutiny. Being independent does not mean that wrong or poor decisions can't be made, and it's not unreasonable to scrutinise the decisions of an entity spending $1 billion of taxpayers' money annually.

Through the Senate inquiries conducted into my own bill and that of Senator Xenophon, which we are debating here today, we would see that, on the balance of probabilities, the decision of the ABC board back in December was made in error and as a result of a failure of process and proper governance. The ABC board's decision in December 2016 to terminate its remaining short-wave radio services into the NT—and, I might add, northern WA, northern Queensland and the Pacific region—on 31 January this year is a case in point. I thank Senator Xenophon for bringing this bill as an attempt to address that issue. It was a short-sighted decision that has and will continue to have far-reaching consequences. It adversely affects many people directly and indirectly, as the Senate committee inquiry into this issue and this bill has found. Short-wave radio may be an old technology, but it is cheap, effective, reliable and unaffected by factors such as bad weather or topography. Unlike many of the technologies the ABC has offered as replacements, it is able to cover vast areas from each transmission point.

It is inevitable that short wave will, at some point, be permanently withdrawn. However, this must not occur until solutions that are superior in quality, reliability, coverage and access become available, and right now they are not. That is the contention of both Northern Territory senators in this place from both sides and, indeed, Senator Xenophon and me, who have been very critical over a long period of time of the ABC's decision in this particular area. The ABC unilaterally decided to terminate its short-wave services from 31 January this year without consultation and without firm evidence to validate that decision, As Senator McCarthy and I have prosecuted in estimates since the decision was made, the ABC has failed to give us substantial or credible evidence as to why it made the decision. By unilaterally deciding to terminate its short-wave services, the ABC has effectively abandoned huge areas of the NT, in addition to breaching its obligation under the ABC charter with respect to our neighbours in the Pacific. Despite clinging to the assertion that fewer than 500 people access short-wave broadcasts in the NT, the ABC admitted in its evidence to the committee on 16 June this year that it had actually not undertaken any surveys of short-wave listeners prior to its decision to axe the service. We were told that the reason no surveys of short-wave listeners were conducted is that the ABC suspected listeners might be in regions where it's very difficult to survey them. Surely this is part of the whole point of continuing short-wave broadcasts in the first place: it reaches people in areas that are too remote or difficult to be able to broadcast to through other available platforms.

Given nobody asked the listeners what they thought, the predictable outpouring of anger to two Senate inquiries that followed has hardly been a surprise. Whether or not short-wave radio listeners in the NT live in places too difficult to ask them what we think—we call them GIs, the geographically impossibles—the fact that the ABC guess about just how many listeners its short-wave service attracts fails to take into account the farmers, fishermen, cattlemen, truck drivers, tour operators, transient users of short waves, residents of Indigenous communities, grey nomads and other mobile users who depend on this catch-all service into the NT, who now literally have been left in silence. That is outside of those in the Pacific that Senator Xenophon has been discussing. The Northern Territory government, which gave evidence to our inquiry, has estimated a non-resident tourist population making approximately 600,000 visits to remote parts of the Territory annually, in addition to a minimum of 650 fishing and fishing tourism operators in NT waters every year. These groups are also likely to be adversely impacted by the ABC's short-wave decision. I could go on and on about the lack of consultation.

The ABC didn't seek advice from its own advisory boards or from Friends of the ABC—despite some of those people living in remote areas of, particularly, northern South Australia and the NT—in deciding to kill off the ABC short wave, despite saying the savings from axing the short wave would be reinvested to grow digital services in places like Darwin and Canberra. Those communities are already well serviced with other platforms on which people can access the ABC's broadcasts.

It didn't consult the Northern Territory government either to have any understanding about where connectivity existed within the boundaries of the NT. The National Association of Shortwave Broadcasters estimated that at the time the ABC board made its decision approximately one per cent of the population used short-wave radio. The Northern Territory, in turn, accounts for one per cent of Australia's overall population. Even without making any adjustments for the fact that these users are likely to be disproportionately located in rural and remote areas, it suggests that 2½ thousand listeners in the NT would be affected—more than 400 per cent more than what the ABC estimated the affect to the community would be.

Witnesses who appeared before the committee inquiry into my own Australian Broadcasting Corporation Amendment (Rural and Regional Advocacy) Bill 2015 in Darwin put a human dimension to the consequences of this complete lack of meaningful consultation and the apparent disregard the ABC's decision showed for any consequences. Bruce Davey, a cruise boat operator, told the inquiry:

We have had absolute silence now. I do not know what is happening to the world … I will implore the Senate committee to fully understand the hunters, fishermen and numerous other stakeholders that have just been thrown to the winds here.

Also, representative bodies like the Northern Territory Cattlemen's Association noted:

Mental health problems are already a considerable problem in remote areas—sitting in silence while the rest of the country has a radio dial chock full of stations …

It is absolutely unacceptable, when you think that some cattlemen—we had this evidence—who may be travelling 300 or 400 kilometres in a round trip on a day from the station to check bores are sitting there now in absolute silence. With short wave, they would have been able to access the public broadcaster's information, news and current affairs. That is only, I think, a fair and just use of the $1 billion Australians give to the ABC to service our communities.

Again, the Cattlemen's Association described the decision as an 'unjust and dishonest policy of exclusion and discrimination against remote and regional Australians'. I absolutely agree with their assessment of this board decision. The point here is that however few listeners there may have been, short wave was a connective tissue that allowed these users in remote places to still be part of the outside world. It kept them in the loop of what was going on. It brought them news, information, entertainment and sometimes even Senate debates. Now these people are stranded in silence.

The ABC's answer and response to our questions and their public media releases to the community was, 'It's OK, FM broadcast is the bedrock.' Or, even worse, 'You can download the digital app to access all of our broadcast services.' The problem around the FM/AM argument—even the ABC's director of regional admitted this to a Senate estimates hearing on 6 March—is that AM and FM transmission cover four per cent of the Northern Territory's land mass. Yes, that is 84 per cent of the NT's population, but when you are thinking about the fishermen, the transient workers and the truckies that Senator Xenophon spoke to who are traversing the other 96 per cent of the land mass of the NT, there is an incredible issue when you look at emergency service broadcasts, having an understanding and being connected to the broader world—something that the ABC board completely ignored and, indeed, tried to cover up in their public commentary and their media commentary around the time. By contrast, short wave covered everyone in the Northern Territory, irrespective of where they were. Aside from the coverage problem, AM and FM are affected by bad weather, and can only be received between 20 and 90 kilometres from the transmission point. Short wave covered the entire territory, an area of more than 1.4 million square kilometres, from three transmitters.

In fact, every alternative to short wave the ABC has put on the table through this public debate has something seriously wrong with it. The ABC has nominated mobile phones as part of the answer for internet streaming. As those of us from the bush know all too well, mobile phones are dependent on signal strength and coverage, and this can be often limited, particularly in areas as remote as the NT. It says satellite phones are part of the answer. These don't receive radio signals directly, though, and they are too slow and expensive for internet streaming of what signals they do receive.

Again, it pulled out the old classic, 'You can all just get VAST, the Viewer Access Satellite Television, technology.' That was going to be part of the answer. But, again, the ABC fundamentally misunderstands how we live and work in the regions. VAST has to be stationary. You can put it on your house. You can put it on the homestead. Yes, you'll be able to access the ABC services. But you can't put it on your ute. You can't put it on your motorbike. You can't put it on your fishing vessel. You can't be mobile, so it is of absolutely no use to the four-wheel-drivers, travellers, people on horseback et cetera that short wave could have actually assisted.

It all adds up to not very much. Sure, some of these technologies are very impressive. They're very impressive, but they aren't much use to those particularly remote listeners in the Northern Territory. And unfortunately it's the same story where the ABC short-wave broadcasts to the Pacific are concerned, as these too were shut down in January. Look at the issues around diplomacy. Look at other entities filling that gap. Look at the charter obligations of the ABC to be the international broadcaster, the purveyor of Australian culture and context and language to our nearest neighbour. In discussing this issue, I was told of an Indian taxidriver whose English was exceptional. When asked why, he said, 'Because I listen to the ABC. So I know that it's footy season. I have some understanding of the Australian culture and context, and my English is getting better.' That is important for our nearest neighbour to the north, that being Indonesia.

The ABC abdicated its responsibility under its charter obligations, not just to rural and regional people in the Northern Territory itself but indeed across the Pacific. The same factors that shaped the short-wave decision in the Northern Territory—no consultation, no evidence, no solutions—were also evident in its decision to kill off the Pacific broadcasts. The ABC again claimed that just 300 people in Papua New Guinea listened to the ABC short wave. To back this, it told our inquiry into my bill on the ABC, earlier this year, that it drew this conclusion from a 2016 media research survey that showed 15,000 Radio Australia listeners were in PNG. Needless to say this survey, its fieldwork and methodology were not disclosed. They were claimed to the Senate, when we requested this information, to be commercially in confidence. Unfortunately for this part of the ABC story, it also stated in another answer to senators' questions that two per cent of PNG's 160,000 population used short wave to access the Radio Australia transmission—again contradictory. So 80 per cent of PNG residents actually use short wave and can access the ABC.

There is a strong flavour to all of this of saying whatever seems expedient on one hand and refusing to answer or disclose anything inconvenient on the other, to which I would say: ABC, you can't have it both ways. This contrary and frankly incredible approach to justifying the ABC's December 2016 board decision on short wave also extends to their account of the number of complaints they received. We were told, 'Look, it's okay, senators; we only received 18 complaints from the NT and a couple from Fiji,' but there were complaints from Laos, from India, from France, from the USA, from the Prime Minister of Vanuatu, from the Northern Territory Cattlemen's Association—that's not just one person—from the truckies, from the tourist operations, from the fishermen. There were thousands of people that made complaints. The ABC admitted that they didn't even take into account as a complaint somebody who rang their ABC Alice Springs studio to complain. That wasn't a real complaint. I think the ABC have just been too cute by half in the way that they've dealt with this very, very serious issue and the way they have completely disregarded the Senate's attempts through estimates, two Senate inquiries and one hearing in Darwin to scrutinise this decision and this absolute failure under public expectation in the spend of public dollars and service delivery to those communities that need it most in the NT.

Where the Pacific is concerned, I think Senator Xenophon outlined quite nicely the Prime Minister of Vanuatu's concerns, particularly around natural disasters and how short-wave radio, and indeed the ABC's broadcasts, were of particular help during the disasters experienced by his country.

I think most Australians, based on past actions, irrespective of anything that may or may not appear in the charter, recognise the ABC as the emergency broadcaster. That came out clearly in our hearings. It's not unfair to say that most Australians expect to be able to rely on the ABC in an emergency. I was very, very concerned when we got the evidence that says, 'It's alright, senators; it's alright. You can get your weather information from the Bureau of Meteorology.' Unfortunately the ABC director who gave us that information failed to add the additional sentence that the BOM in the Northern Territory really only covers the coastal area. So, if you have a flood, a fire or some other emergency in inland Northern Territory, the BOM isn't going to be a place where you can access emergency service information.

Let's face the facts: the unilateral decision to cull short-wave services by the ABC board was a bad decision, made worse because it was based on very little evidence and even less consultation. It was backed up by a refusal to submit to the scrutiny of the Senate when questioned. As examples I've shared today show all too clearly, the ABC's story on its decision to cancel short-wave simply doesn't add up. It claims infinitesimal listener numbers but produces no evidence to substantiate it. It even admitted that it didn't even bother to talk to anyone who was invested in short-wave as an end user. That is all in the face of a mountain of anecdotal evidence that suggests that the short-wave listenership is not only far higher and more widespread than the ABC claims but also, very simply, that the ABC board got it wrong.

Whilst I am unable to support Senator Xenophon's bill and its substantive measures, I thank him for bringing this issue to the Senate. I too thank the Northern Territory senators who, when inquiring into my Australian Broadcasting Corporation Amendment (Rural and Regional Advocacy) Bill, obtained a lot of substantial evidence around this decision. If my bill had become law, this would never have been able to occur. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation Amendment (Rural and Regional Advocacy) Bill is a private senator's bill that is already before the Senate. It seeks to add to the ABC charters measures to include an explicit responsibility for the ABC on service provision to rural and regional Australians, a responsibility to deliver not just a culturally diverse service but a geographically diverse service. The bill would also add a requirement that there be two board members of the ABC who have a substantial investment and experience in rural and regional Australia. I believe that if we had had two people from rural and regional Australia sitting on the ABC board in December 2016 somebody would have asked, 'Have you talked to the NT cattlemen? Have you talked to the Indigenous communities? Has somebody spoken to how this will actually affect 96 per cent of the NT's landmass and people's ability to access public broadcast information?'

The third thing my bill seeks to do is to set up a rural and regional advisory council. I do not want to impinge on the independence—management, editorial or otherwise—of the ABC, but under principles of good governance the council would require the board to consult with rural and regional people and then publicly disclose what that advice was. The board could ignore the advice if there were other imperatives, but it would have to ask the question and see whether that advice from rural and regional Australia materially affected the board's decision on the matter.

I commend Senator Xenophon. In my recommendations there are solutions. The board should absolutely reconsider this decision, which is based on poor evidence.

Patrick Dodson (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak as well on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation Amendment (Restoring Shortwave Radio) Bill 2017. I thank both Senator Xenophon's team for raising this issue and Senator McKenzie for her passion for those that live in the regional and remote regions. Labor has been deeply concerned about the impact of the cessation of short-wave radio in remote Australia and the Pacific. The ABC decided to cease, from 31 January 2017, the transmission of a short-wave radio service to the Northern Territory and certain Pacific nations. Labor has been campaigning on the ABC decision to cease the short-wave transmission since it was announced in mid-December. I have been particularly impressed by the advocacy shown by my colleague Senator McCarthy and my colleagues in the other place Mr Snowden and Mr Gosling. They've been as passionate on this issue over the same period because they really understand the impact of turning off short wave in remote parts of the Northern Territory.

There have been very real concerns expressed to the Environment and Communications Legislation Committee about these decisions. We understand that the ABC decision was based on the fact that it measured relatively low audience levels for the service. Michael Mason, ABC's director of radio said:

While shortwave technology has served audiences well for many decades, it is now nearly a century old and serves a very limited audience. The ABC is seeking efficiencies and will instead service this audience through modern technology.

However, even though Labor expressed concern at the time, there was very little consultation prior to the announcement. I understand that only limited consultation took place with affected stakeholders, something that disappoints me and other members on this side of the chamber. When the ABC made the announcement in December 2016, several groups of Territorians, as we've heard, and stakeholder groups across the Top End expressed their disappointment. These included the Northern Territory Cattlemen's Association and many others.

I was born in the remote north-west regional centre of Broome and have lived in the Top End most of my life. I can recall my dear dad, when the only installation in the house was a radio, turning to the short wave to listen to his favourite programs at the time. I recall Paul Robeson singing. I worked for many years with people on cattle stations who depended on information coming through the short-wave service. They relied on short wave for their news, for their market information on cattle prices and particularly for their access to up-to-date information when cyclones were brewing in the region. Even their children were schooled through short-wave services. Many remote Aboriginal communities were similarly placed.

Where we live there is a strong concern that there is currently a lack of alternative radio services in remote areas, particularly when we are dealing with emergency situations such as fire, flood or particularly cyclones. Some of the alternatives in place elsewhere such as digital technology are in short supply in rural and regional areas due to insufficient internet and mobile phone coverage—we've heard that already. I was visited in my office yesterday by a lady who came from a station near Riversleigh in north-west Queensland, just above Camooweal, and she pointed out that satellite technology in her district was unreliable during rainy times and when there's heavy smoke from bushfires in the air. The services available through the NBN and Sky Muster were not reliable, as was also pointed out to us by the National Farmers' Federation.

In areas where digital services are unreliable and spasmodic, short wave is something people have relied upon at least as a back-up when all else fails. That applies to fishermen in deep-sea areas, well off the coast, where other satellite coverage is spasmodic. It also applies to workers in Indigenous ranger programs caring for country in places away from the satellite dish. This was explained by Mark Crocombe from the Thamarrurr rangers at Wadeye on the ABC rural program in December 2016. He said:

Sure, it is expensive to keep the shortwave radio service going, but during cyclones, for the bush camps and people on boats, that is their only way of getting the weather reports.

It could be life threatening, if you are out and you don't know a cyclone is coming.

The VAST satellite dish is fixed to your house, we are working in the field, and when we are on the boats we are not in mobile phone range, so applications and VAST do not work in the bush.

Labor has been concerned that coalition budget cuts are putting pressure on the ABC to find efficiencies in ways that may undermine important service provisions. In their Senate report the Labor senators, particularly Senator Urquhart and Senator Chisholm, affirmed and advocated for the independence of the ABC. We understand the importance of safeguarding our national broadcaster from political interference. Labor notes that, in 2014, in breach of an explicit election promise, the Liberal National coalition imposed funding cuts on the ABC amounting to $355 million over a five-year period.

In their report the Labor senators noted that, in this context, the government commissioned the ABC and the SBS efficiency study to identify potential savings. The study identified the discontinuance of short-wave radio services as an area of potential savings amongst others. What we have been concerned about is that coalition budget cuts are putting pressure on the ABC to find efficiencies in ways that may undermine important service provision. We are of the view that the ABC decision to cease short-wave radio transmissions in the Northern Territory and Pacific is an example of the national broadcaster having to make trade-offs. It is being stretched to deliver on its mandate, and Northern Australia and our other remote communities have suffered as a result.

While Labor supports the concerns behind the bill, there are real concerns and questions as to whether this is the appropriate way to address those concerns. This bill does nothing to address the real issues of the ABC budget pressures. Those pressures have been brought about by the Liberal-National coalition funding cuts so that the ABC has been spread too thin. It has been asked to do too much with too little and been forced to make so-called efficiencies that undermine its abilities to serve both the spirit and the letter of the ABC Charter. When this impacts on our people in the bush—Aboriginal communities, pastoralists, tourist operators, fishermen—we are concerned. When these changes are made without consultation, we are concerned. When these changes are made without attention to the need to ensure later digital technologies are up to speed for the circumstances in isolated regions, we are very concerned, particularly if there are no maintenance capacities to look after those transmission areas.

The ABC said at the time:

The move is in line with the national broadcaster's commitment to dispense with outdated technology and to expand its digital content offerings including DAB+ digital radio, online and mobile services, together with FM services for international audiences.

The ABC also said:

… the ABC will assist with the transition to new technologies, providing information on how to access emergency services, as well as the use of modern and reliable devices such as emergency GPS beacons (EPIRBs) and affordable satellite telephones. Further information and specialist advice will be provided on how to access these services, including how to download catch-up radio programs and ABC podcasts to listen to whilst on the move.

In the Kimberley, you must recall the famous Cable Beach in Broome was where Australia connected to the overseas communication system. We now have the court in the old cable building that was part of that process. In the Kimberley, this transition had been made earlier than in the Northern Territory, but the promised transition to new technologies is slow to catch up. People have adjusted, but the process has been appalling.

It is absolutely fundamental that communications services in remote northern Australia should be maintained. The quality of life is at risk. Lives indeed could be at risk. That said, this bill in its present form cannot be supported. We will not apply pressure to the ABC. But the issue is: the ABC has turned off a lifeline without ensuring that the new technologies are available and fit for purpose, and they have not consulted anyone—or certainly have not consulted adequately. They have been forced into this predicament because of funding dictates by the coalition government, who have not cared for the bush or the people of the bush. This is the core of the issue and where Labor will continue and remain.

Sarah Hanson-Young (SA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak to this bill before us today, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation Amendment (Restoring Shortwave Radio) Bill 2017, put forward by Senator Xenophon. While I understand a lot of the concerns that have been raised—and I've spoken to people in my home state in South Australia about their very dear concerns in relation to not being able to access short-wave radio in remote areas, particularly in the north of my state—we believe that this bill is not the right mechanism to use to go about this. We believe that introducing a bill to direct our national broadcaster in this way does interfere with its independence.

However, we know that the ABC has been under immense funding pressure ever since this government came to power in 2013, despite the promises from the former Prime Minister, Tony Abbott, that there would be no cuts to the ABC. Indeed, in his first budget that promise was broken. Hundreds of millions of dollars were cut directly from our national broadcaster. We now hear, in relation to negotiations over media reform this week, that the government is prepared to open the door to even further cuts to the ABC and SBS at the whim and demand of Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party.

The truth of the matter here is that the ABC continues to be used as a punching bag by those within the ranks of the government—and, indeed, by some on the crossbench—who simply don't like the fact that they can't control what the ABC does. We know that getting some bad press every now and again has rattled Senator Hanson and her party. I don't think we should set a precedent in this place that just because someone does a touch-up on a Four Corners show you slash and burn the ABC's budget. That is just not how a democracy should be functioning. Yet we know that this is exactly what Pauline Hanson and One Nation want to do. They've got the ABC and SBS in their sights. They have a grudge that they want action on. They have an axe to grind and they want that axe to fall squarely onto the ABC's budget.

That will mean that there will be more hard and difficult decisions to be made by ABC management in relation to what simply cannot continue to be funded. The example in the bill that's been put before us today by Senator Xenophon and his team is that of short-wave radio being closed down—without a suitable alternative being put in place—as a direct result of that pressure building year by year.

So what is going to be on the chopping block next? Well, I can tell you: it's going to be the ABC's online and streaming services; iview is what will start to be impacted here—the programs and the service delivery. And perhaps there will even be a paywall so that taxpayers will have to pay to access content that their taxes have already paid for. That's where this is going. That is exactly where this deal that One Nation wants to pull off with Malcolm Turnbull is going: a tax on the ABC, cuts to the ABC and less content access for everyday Australians.

Of course, at a time when there are budgetary constraints made on our public broadcaster—because of broken promises from the former Prime Minister Tony Abbott, which were followed through by this Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull—there are hard decisions to be made, and it is the Australian community that loses out every single time. Rather than simply using the ABC as a punching bag, as Pauline Hanson likes to do, I think we need to see a bit more leadership from our government on this. They want to get their media reform package through this place so they should talk about what they're going to do to invest in the diversity of journalism in this country—to create more jobs for journalists in this country and to invest in the creation and the production of Australian content so that we have Australians employed to make Australian stories that Australians can access freely and in a timely way.

Of course, this government wants to hand $30 million over to Foxtel, with no strings attached and no questions asked, but they continue to take the axe to our national broadcaster. You can see the priorities in this place. You've got a grudge being held by Pauline Hanson, you've got a government that wants an excuse to slash and burn the budget of the broadcaster and the darling of the ABC, Malcolm Turnbull, is shrinking over there in the shadows. He is unable to shake off the broken promise from Tony Abbott when he cut hundreds of millions of dollars from the ABC's budget, despite promising the Australian people before the 2013 election that he wouldn't. We all know what happens when Tony Abbott says he's going to do something; the exact opposite seems to occur. He's never been very good at holding a promise, and now we see Pauline Hanson doing dirty deals to finish the job for him.

Dean Smith (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak against the Australian Broadcasting Corporation Amendment (Restoring Shortwave Radio) Bill 2017 this morning. Our public service broadcasters play important roles in the social construction of our communities, especially in rural and regional Australia. However, in today's modern media environment—an environment dominated by online digital platforms that allow content to be accessed by viewers not only all over Australia but all over the world—has placed increasing economic pressures on our rural and regional broadcasters. The new digital media environment means greater consideration must be given to the economic impact of keeping services like the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's short-wave transmission broadcasts over the ability to provide quality local content and the provision of information services to regional and remote communities.

According to a 2015 report by the Australian Communications and Media Authority, 100 per cent of Australian homes can access digital terrestrial broadcasts; 30 per cent of all Australian homes now have a smart TV—a TV they can access the internet with directly; and 27 per cent have accessed the internet via a smart TV. It also went on to say that 23 per cent of Australians now have a complex home network that supports multiple devices and connection boxes, and that the number of connected devices is expected to double from 116 million to 220 million by 2019. It also went on to say that 70 per cent of Australians use a mobile phone to access the internet for personal use and 58 per cent of 18- to 30-year-old professionals say that their smart phones are the first thing they look at in the morning.

The role of the television has shifted from being a more collective viewing experience based on a specific time, like the news at 6 pm, and place, such as the living room, to one that now has an individual component of watching what you want when and where you want to watch it. Two out of three commercial broadcasters now provide streamed versions of their services, which are available in both metro and regional areas. In addition, both the ABC and SBS have streamed services and apps, which means regional viewers receive the same amount of content as their metro counterparts due to existing affiliation agreements. The increase of other streaming services like Netflix or Spotify is rapidly impacting on audience viewing and listening behaviours. The ABC's 2015 annual report, aptly entitled All about audiences, documents that digital technologies, particularly mobile devices, are used to access more news than ever before. This is changing the Australian media landscape.

In these rapidly changing times, it's imperative to consider the crucial role performed by the ABC in the production and dissemination of local news in Australia's rural and regional communities. More than one-third of the ABC's budget goes towards content, transmission and infrastructure costs servicing rural and regional audiences. The ABC operates 56 offices and bureaus around the country, and its network includes more than 600 AM and FM radio transmitters. The ABC remains a pioneer in transitioning to digital services, especially in engaging regional audiences online through ABC Open.

On 10 January 2010, the Australian government announced a new satellite service to deliver digital television and radio channels to Australian viewers who reside in remote and rural areas across our country. Viewer Access Satellite Television, or VAST, provides digital television and radio services to viewers in remote areas of Australia, as well as viewers who are unable to receive digital TV through their normal antennae because of issues relating to local interference, terrain or distance from the transmitter in their area. The VAST service has channels for the ABC, the SBS and the Australian commercial television networks. Access to the commercial television services on VAST is governed by broadcast licence conditions, and each application is assessed against those criteria. The ABC and SBS services are available to all viewers with a VAST decoder. Initially, the service was only available to viewers in and around Mildura, Victoria, to coincide with Australia's first analog television switch-off. On 15 December 2010, the service was made available to viewers in the existing remote central and eastern Australia and Mount Isa licence areas, and in April 2011 the western VAST service began for regional and remote Western Australian viewers in my home state.

While the ABC announced its decision to cease short-wave radio broadcasting on 6 December last year, it is important to note that the decision to end short-wave broadcasting was taken by the ABC board, who have legislated operational independence to make these decisions. This decision is in no way related to government funding, which was confirmed for the next three years in the last budget. The government has, however, conveyed to the ABC the community concern about its handling of this significant issue, particularly relating to the limited consultation and notice period that was given to consumers. The ABC has advised that the cost of maintaining the short wave service was considered disproportionate to its use as a broadcast technology.

Currently there are only three short-wave transmission towers in Australia. All are located in the Northern Territory, and each has a broadcast radius of 200 kilometres. The Northern Territory's short-wave service is the last domestic service of this type. The ABC's short-wave services in the other states and territories were closed some time ago, and there are now no similar ABC services in Queensland or Western Australia, which face similar issues of distance and remoteness. The ABC has also assured the government that the cessation of its short-wave service will not leave those in the remote regions of the NT without access to emergency information.

The VAST satellite service is used across other large parts of the remote Australian outback where there are no short-wave broadcasts, such as in parts of the Northern Territory and all of Western Australia, South Australia, Queensland and New South Wales. Many remote workers and travellers already make use of the VAST satellite service when stationary to access all ABC radio and TV in digital quality.

The National Broadband Network satellite services, Sky Muster, will also assist those in remote Australia by providing access to all ABC online and digital content. Sky Muster provides broadband connectivity to regional and remote Australia, effectively covering all of mainland Australia. For those outside terrestrial radio coverage who are mobile or do not have access to VAST, there is the dedicated Bureau of Meteorology high-frequency transmission, which provides hourly weather updates and alerts on its short-wave band. In addition, the Northern Territory Police and emergency services operate short-wave services for two-way communication in case of emergency. The ABC will also donate a VAST satellite system unit to all Royal Flying Doctor Service bases and four-wheel-drive radio club bases in the affected region, allowing these organisations to rebroadcast emergency or warning messages.

In terms of the ABC's international short-wave service, Radio Australia will continue to be available internationally via satellite and online streaming and through a network of FM terrestrial transmitters. The ABC has advised that international short-wave services currently transmit only to Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. The ABC previously maintained short-wave services to the Middle East, India, China, Indonesia and the Asia-Pacific. However, these services have already been terminated in recent years as audiences have made the transition to newer radio technologies, including FM transmissions and online streaming services. Other public broadcasters including the BBC, Radio-Canada and Radio Netherlands have already closed or substantially reduced their international short-wave services in recent years.

While the ABC acknowledges that a small audience living and working in the Northern Territory favour short-wave radio when accessing ABC services, to assist this small audience following the closure of short-wave services on 31 January, the ABC has offered comprehensive advice on how to best access emergency information, ABC news and entertainment. To date, this information program has included public notices and comprehensive statements in local media; regular broadcasts on ABC local radio, including on short wave; and online articles and advice informing audiences of the decision and how they can continue to access ABC services. The expansion of this service included extra resources from the ABC in the form of an ongoing public information campaign in local media and an easy-to-access information page on ABC local radio websites for the Northern Territory, as well as the About the ABC website, the ABC Local Radio Facebook page and other social media platforms. The ongoing ABC reception advice line, accessible by phone and email, continues to offer dedicated audience assistance with broadcast alternatives and technology advice. In addition, the ABC has established email and phone registration for information packs on broadcast technology alternatives, mailed to home addresses; information on one-on-one phone briefings or tuition delivered through reception advice lines; and the development of how-to videos, accessible online and through social media, detailing how to download and access podcasts and catch-up radio programming.

Australia is using an upgraded version of the digital audio broadcasting digital radio standard known as DAB+ to broadcast digital radio. DAB+ uses a VHF band III spectrum, which is the same spectrum currently used by digital television services. Digital radio services from commercial radio broadcasters and national broadcasters have been operating in the metropolitan licence areas of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth since 1 July 2009. Designated community radio services also began in these areas in April 2011.

In 2015, following the publication of Digital radio report, the government asked that ACMA facilitate the rollout of digital radio in regional areas where licensees make the commercial decision to offer the service. As recommended in that report, a Digital Radio Planning Committee for Regional Australia, chaired by ACMA, was established in the third quarter of 2015 to work with industry to plan digital radio in regional Australia. The committee was tasked with planning the rollout of digital radio in regional areas where industry indicates it is economically feasible to do so, starting with the permanent licensing of Canberra and Darwin trial service areas. The committee comprised industry representatives from peak bodies, Commercial Radio Australia and the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia, as well as the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, the SBS, the Department of Communications and the Arts, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and, of course, ACMA.

The department of communications simultaneously conducted two statutory reviews into digital radio services in Australia in accordance with its regulatory obligations—in particular, section 215B of the Broadcasting Services Act and section 313B of the Radiocommunications Act 1992.

The department of communications' Digital radio report was released in July 2015 and made a number of recommendations to government, including: not setting a timetable for analogue radio switch-off; giving the ACMA responsibility for determining where and when digital radio services can commence; encouraging industry to work with ACMA to establish a digital radio planning committee; not reintroducing the moratorium on the ACMA issuing digital-only commercial radio licences in mainland state capital cities; removing provisions requiring a six-year moratorium on additional radio services; considering whether to allow broadcasters to choose the mode in which they deliver their radio services; and, importantly, considering minor amendments to the current digital radio regulatory regime to provide a similar, more flexible process for planning and licensing of digital radio in regional Australia with a view to permanent services being licensed in Canberra and Darwin as a priority.

There can be no doubt that for some people across regional Australia, and in particular the far north of Australia, the ABC's decision in regard to the short-wave transmission has been an important one. Certainly, I have had representations from people across the Kimberley, most particularly those people near the border between the Kimberley and the Northern Territory who have been concerned about this latest decision by the ABC. But, unfortunately, the decision by the ABC is an important one that can be defended. The ABC has done its best, after some pressure from the government, to make sure consumers are aware of the need for change and the need for reform. As is true across the media landscape, we can't escape the fact that technologies change. A part of that technological change is to bring additional services and better-quality content to people, and this particular decision, I think, is the right one.

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

I rise to speak to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation Amendment (Restoring Shortwave Radio) Bill 2017 and I thank the Senator Nick Xenophon and his team for raising what is an incredibly important issue.

I would like to let the Senate know that having no short-wave radio in the Northern Territory means that when people turn their radio on now in the remote regions of the Northern Territory and northern Australia, they hear nothing but static. The fishers out their boats, the rangers out on country, the farmers and cattle families out there on their stations hear nothing. They hear nothing. Where once communication was vibrant, where once communication meant something to those who were completely isolated, now it is completely gone. They are isolated. They are not feeling linked to the rest of this country. They are not feeling linked to whatever news, current affairs, weather and updates are happening in their region. They are not linked to any of that communication. It is absolutely dire, the absence of this service, for regional Australians.

The ABC board visited the Northern Territory and Central Australia recently and heard first-hand from people in the region. They didn't have to hear from politicians; they heard from the very listeners themselves. These weren't made up stories by senators in this chamber or members in the other chamber; these were very real human stories. The ABC board and its members who went to Alice Springs were able to hear firsthand the deep impact, the quite profound impact, that the silencing of short wave has had on their lives in the eight months since it was taken off air.

I have never seen an issue so long-lasting. This is not just a newspaper article, not just a radio news item but a long-lasting, very human issue that has gone on for eight months. It has gone on way too long. The ABC's managing director was at Garma on Yolngu country, welcomed wholeheartedly by the Yolngu people. It was an opportunity for her and for those who were with her to get a deeper insight into the isolation of our country—the remoteness, the length of time it takes for people to travel, the absence of full communication, the realisation that mobiles do not happen in every square corner of this country and the realisation that you can't just get on your mobile phone in the middle of Arnhem Land and try and download an app that brings you to the ABC.

Here in Canberra we can. I love the fact that I can listen to all the different radio stations and even listen to Darwin while I am down here in Canberra. We know that our southern cities and our brothers and sisters in the southern parts of this country have enormous access. The people in the north do not.

The people in the north suffer from many different geographical issues. Now, they absolutely suffer at the complete silence of any communication. We have heard from previous speakers here today about the VAST network. We know that a cattleman who is out mustering cannot put the VAST satellite on his horse. We know that the people in the fishing industry cannot put it on their boats. We know that the rangers who are travelling out in their four-wheel drives cannot have it in their cars. We know the truckies cannot put it on their trucks.

The ABC managing director faced Senate estimates this year. I asked her: with all this information that you have now received of how much need there is out there for this service, will you now reconsider your decision? Will you now reconsider your board's decision? Yes, while there have been horrific cuts to the ABC over the past few years and while there have been extensive cuts in different quarters for different reasons, this decision still came down to the ABC board. We are all placed at different times in life to make choices. We are placed in positions that we may not want to be placed in, but we try to make informed decisions as a result of being placed in those positions. This was not an informed decision by the ABC board.

I urge the ABC board, with the new members who have since come on that board—it is wonderful to see the new members who have come on, including Georgie Somerset, a woman of enormous significance in terms of her understanding of regional issues. It is wonderful to have board members there who know what we are talking about and who know this is not just a fantasy of senators and members of the House who try to speak on behalf of their constituencies.

These are very real, very human issues about the lack of communication for our regional Australians. We know of the concerns internationally. We know the concerns of Vanuatu and all the Pacific islands. I have to say that my focus as a senator for the Northern Territory is for the people of the Northern Territory and northern Australia. We have to fix it here in our country first. The ABC can fix this. There are board members there who can revisit this decision. There is a managing director now who has had an opportunity to visit places in the Northern Territory and hear the people for herself. It is not too late. It is never too late to revisit a mistake.

The loss of the ABC's short-wave service in remote Australia and the Pacific region is being sorely felt. I certainly support the need for the ABC to maintain and build its regional coverage and I believe there are options for doing this, not the least of which is ensuring adequate funding. What steps are being taken to pursue, to lobby for or to advocate for the funding that is so desperately needed in these regions, especially in relation to short wave? What consultation has taken place within your own organisation? You have the advisory council. You have the Bonner Committee of respected Indigenous staff members who know firsthand of what I speak about in relation to the concerns of Indigenous communities. Have you spoken to them? Have they been given an opportunity to express to you, the board of the ABC, the importance of short wave and reconnecting a most valued and most loved service to our country?

Over the past many months, we've been listening to a lot of the concerns by people across the country in the Senate estimates and the inquiry by the Senate and now reading the letters that are still being written to my office, asking for this service to be put back on. It is a transmission service that provides a vital service for Territorians living in remote areas. It's how they access their news, entertainment and information. The decision to stop this was absolutely premature.

The ABC local radio service often provides the only reliable source of information and entertainment to remote communities, to pastoral stations and to people who otherwise work remotely and are mobile. In times of natural disaster—and let me tell you, the cyclone season, the wet season, is six months of the year for the Northern Territory, the Far North Queensland and the Kimberley region—having access to that service can quite literally mean the difference between life and death. Territorians and others who visit and work in remote regions, as well as those who rely on short-wave services in the Pacific region, have expressed their concern and anger at the decision to cut this service.

The recent Senate inquiry into the ABC's rural and regional advocacy bill, which looks at the short-wave issue—and I do commend Senator McKenzie for her push in this space—received more than 57 submissions, the majority objecting to the cessation of short-wave services.

I'd like to share some of what people who live and work in remote areas told me about the ABC's short-wave service and what it meant for their daily lives. Dave and Mary Hewitt said:

The ABC says we'll still be able to tune in via FM radio, online streaming or the radio APP "that gives much better sound quality" - none of this is available further than about 40km from a transmitter, and it shows again how little the ABC bosses know about the bush. My wife and I often travel west of Uluru in my work with maintenance in the Purple House dialysis clinics and about half an hour from Uluru we loose FM reception. We can then tune into Short Wave on our Codan HF radio. We often camp between communities and it is always comforting to hear weather forecasts early in the morning.

Many older travellers also have these Codan or Barrett radios and often in winter at Stuart Highway rest areas we see groups of them gathered around a radio listening to an AFL football game.

We've been in the middle of the Great Sandy Desert with teams of bird watchers and on a Sunday morning we listen to Ian McNamara's 'Australia All Over' program from the Alice Springs, Tennant Creek or Katherine transmitters. Again, the weather information on the radio is very valuable. There is nothing else out there that can provide this kind of service.

We know of people in remote Aboriginal communities who do not have a local FM service or at best it is very unreliable, road maintenance crews and tour operators to whom the Short Wave reception is absolutely vital. It is very reliable and we have never known the HF transmitters to fail. If we are in a location where reception is not good from Alice Springs, we can tune into Tennant Creek.

That is just one of thousands of letters that have been written and continue to be written to members of parliament about the need to restore this most valued and loved service. The bottom line here is that if we really care about the ABC as a parliament as well and its regional and remote viewers and listeners, then it does need to be funded properly to deliver these services that we desperately need.

Debate interrupted.