Anthony Byrne (Holt, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

I present the explanatory memorandum and move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

Digital radio offers the promise of a range of new, diverse and innovative services that will further enrich the experience for radio listeners. It will operate alongside the existing analogue radio services so valued by Australians.

The Broadcasting Legislation Amendment (Digital Radio) Bill 2008 makes amendments to the legislation providing a framework for the introduction of Australia’s first digital radio services next year. The first two of these measures amend the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 and relate to the legislated deadline for the commencement of digital radio services in the six state capitals.

Commercial radio broadcasters in these markets are currently required to have commenced their digital radio services by 1 January 2009. Failure to do so could expose them to sanctions, including the cancellation of their right to broadcast in digital. It has become apparent that, due to a range of reasons, broadcasters will be unable to comply with this deadline. In this regard, I note that the commercial radio sector recently announced that the national switch-on for digital radio will take place on 1 May 2009.

To facilitate this, the bill will extend by six months the deadline for the start-up. The new deadline of 1 July 2009 will give commercial broadcasters additional flexibility to resolve any further infrastructure issues relating to the rollout of transmission equipment as they prepare for the launch of the new digital services.

The bill will also remove Hobart from the list of markets where broadcasters are required to commence digital radio services from the new deadline of 1 July 2009. Hobart’s commercial radio broadcasters have expressed strong concerns that they would not be in a position to commence digital radio services at the same time as services in the larger mainland state capital cities. The bill will allow digital radio services to start in Hobart at the same time as other similarly sized markets such as Newcastle, Geelong and Wollongong.

The final measure in this bill amends the Radiocommunications Act 1992 and gives the community broadcasting sector an opportunity to participate in the ownership of the transmission infrastructure that will be used to broadcast their digital radio services.

The government is supportive of the community broadcasters’ participation in digital radio and considers that community broadcasters play a vital role in promoting diversity, local content and grassroots participation in the media sector. However, in a tight fiscal environment, the government decided to take a more cautious approach to the introduction of digital radio by reprofiling the community sector’s funding to commence in the 2009-10 financial year.

As a consequence, the community sector was unable to claim a share in the joint venture companies, formed in 2008, that own digital radio transmission infrastructure. This amendment will restore to the community broadcasting sector an opportunity to participate in the joint venture companies in line with the original intent of the legislation introduced in May 2007.

The benefits of digital radio to both broadcasters and listeners are enormous, and the government looks forward to a successful launch of Australia’s first digital radio services on 1 May 2009.

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