I have been a regular user of the NT domestic shortwave service for a number of years when travelling in parts of remote Australia and the Northern Territory. I am appalled by the ABC’s ill-informed decision to terminate this service and wish to see the service reinstated. While I support the principle behind the bill being considered, I hold some concerns as to the inflexibility of some provisions. I have offered my thoughts on the various provisions of the bill later in this submission. I will principally address the domestic shortwave services given that is my area of experience, but I will also touch briefly on the Radio Australia international shortwave service. History/Context For many decades until the introduction in 1986 of the NT Shower service referred to in this bill, the Northern Territory was principally served on shortwave by VLW which broadcast ABC Regional Radio to Western Australia and the NT from a transmitter site in Perth. A coverage map produced by Telecom Australia (the body then responsible for ABC transmission services) can be found in Appendix 1 which clearly shows that most of Australia could receive ABC domestic shortwave radio. Mediumwave services largely filled in the gaps. Nevertheless the service received from VLW was not considered satisfactory for a range of reasons - largely to do with the expanding development of the Territory - so the need for a specific NT shortwave service was identified. Following a decade of deliberation the three NVIS (Near Vertical Incidence Skywave, also known as Shower) transmitter sites were constructed and put into service throughout 1985 and 1986. The initial cost of the service was $4.2 million (approximately $11 million today). VL8A Alice Springs, VL8T Tennant Creek and VL8K Katherine were each intended to provide a primary service range of 450km from a 50kW transmitter1. The Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association (CAAMA) made use of the transmitters alongside the ABC2. These transmitters were in service until the mid-2000s when they were successively taken out of service for replacement with newer models. During this time Radio Australia (Shepparton) relayed NT programmes to NT listeners. Those new transmitters remained in service until the 31st of January 2017, where they were switched off at noon NT time. This switch-off came after a 6th of December 2016 press release announcing the ABC’s plan to terminate all their remaining shortwave services – both Radio Australia’s International service and the Northern Territory domestic shower service. The closure of the domestic service has left a large void for people in Northern and Central Australia wishing to receive news and entertainment while on the move. Overview of problems The ABC Domestic Shortwave Shower services were transmitted from three transmitter sites in the NT. The powerful transmissions could be heard in all corners of the Northern Territory plus remote parts of WA, QLD, SA and even NSW, despite the ABC’s argument that the service is only good for 200km reliably3. In my experience, the Alice Springs signal was readily heard as far away as the Flinders Ranges at all hours – it had to be, for there is no other radio service in that part of SA. The ABC contends that the VAST satellite service provides an adequate replacement to shortwave radio. However, this is not the case. Many people in remote Australia are constantly on the move, and it is clear that a satellite system installed in a fixed location is of no help to someone who is away from their living room most of the time. A shortwave car head unit, which can be obtained for around $120, provided high quality listening in a moving vehicle. VAST can not be received in a moving vehicle – nor on a boat without equipment costing tens of thousands of dollars. In the name of progress a portable and cheap radio has been replaced with a dish, television, set top box, metres of cables and half an hour of technical setup time. 1 ‘New ABC radio set to go on air’ 1986, Centralian Advocate, 22 January, p. 22. 2 ‘One Of The Mob’ 2016, television program, Australian Story, ABC TV, 4 July. 3 http://about.abc.net.au/press-releases/shortwave-radio/ Mental health problems are already a major issue in remote areas, especially amongst pastoralists. Suicide rates amongst farmers are twice the national average4. The isolation experienced in remote areas is confronting – and I say this as a tourist who can leave at any time. To lose the only useful link you have with the outside world on a daily basis would be devastating. Having the radio on in the background – even just knowing that there is a radio signal there – is a great comfort when in these remote areas. Former listeners to the shortwave service have been advised to download podcasts, buy satellite phones and radio scanners, listen to 4WD radio network transmissions and Royal Flying Doctor Service “broadcasts” – all in an effort by the ABC to shirk its fundamental duty as the premier national broadcaster. The argument that shortwave is nearly a century old and thus should be closed down does not stand up to scrutiny. Mediumwave transmision (also using AM) predates shortwave but I can’t see the ABC rushing to dispense with their city and rural audiences any time soon. The ABC has been in a financially tight place for a number of years now which undoubtedly did not help those making this decision. Nevertheless there is no sign of the money saved from this switch-off actually being saved to make up for a budget shortfall – all evidence suggests that it will be spent on new services to capital cities and FM relays throughout the Pacific. I would wager that most capital city residents would more than happily forgo these new services if they were made aware of how the money became available for them. The ABC clearly does not understand the limitations and benefits of certain technologies – or rather does not want to – and so leaves its most loyal and isolated listeners in total silence with less than 2 months notice. This is not a closure of “duplicative services” – it is a closure of the only radio service available in vast swaths of the Northern Territory and other parts of remote Australia. At this point in time there is no alternative technology available in Australia to replace the service that was provided by the NT Domestic Shortwave. Transitional Measures & HF Radio The ‘transitional measures’5, released on the last full day of shortwave transmissions – presumably to placate an unexpected hounding in the media – serves little practical benefit. One of the measures offered was a digital booklet which consists of screenshots of data already readily available through the ABC’s website6. One of the others was to donate VAST satellite systems to RFDS bases and 4WD radio network bases (which presumably includes VKS-737, VKE-237, Reid’s Radiodata and similar). It should be noted at this point that there are two main types of two-way HF radio services available for the general public – the RFDS-based “Outpost” and the private HF radio networks such as VKS-737. The Radiocommunications Licence Conditions (Outpost Licence) Determination 2015 provides for 11 RFDS bases as “Outpost Assigned” stations. These are located at Alice Springs (NT), Broken Hill (NSW), Carnarvon (WA), Charleville (QLD), Derby (WA), Kalgoorlie (WA), Kuranda (QLD), Meekatharra (WA), Mount Isa (QLD), Port Augusta (SA) and Port Hedland (WA). At the time of writing the ACMA has approximately 3000 “Outpost Non Assigned” licences registered across Australia which allow the licence holder to communicate with the Outpost Assigned bases and with other Non Assigned users. Until the turn of the century the Outpost Non Assigned licence also provided for access to School of the Air frequencies and Telstra’s Radphone and Seatex services7. Radphone provided telephone interconnect and Seatex provided radio telex services. Around this time the long-running Outpost station VJY (St John Ambulance Darwin) closed down, leaving the RFDS as the sole Outpost Assigned licence holder and Alice Springs as the only NT base. The Outpost radio service operates under the Licence Conditions Determination referred to above and it would be fair to say that it provides a very limited service today to what it once offered in decades past. That gap has largely been filled by the other, traveller-based, radio networks. To communicate on any of these networks requires a significant capital investment. A good secondhand radio will be at least $500-$1000. A new model is several thousand dollars. You will also need an antenna which can range from 4 http://www.abc.net.au/news/2008-08-19/farmers-suicide-rates-double-national-average-study/482170 5 http://about.abc.net.au/statements/abc-shortwave-closure-transitional-measures/ 6 http://reception.abc.net.au 7 https://web.archive.org/web/19980131223252fw_/http://www.aca.gov.au:80/support/pubs/info/outpost.htm $250 to $1000 depending on the type. On top of this you will have a licence fee to the ACMA (outpost licence) or one of the 4WD networks. The 4WD networks can be very powerful when used fully (with telephone interconnects, SMS and email messaging, GPS position logging, general conversation and base operators who can obtain information for you) but based on my experience I doubt any network is remotely capable of making use of any VAST system in any useful and timely manner – especially when you consider that the base operators are located all over the country and are dialling in to any base by telephone8.