Bob Baldwin (Paterson, Liberal Party, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for the Environment) Share this | Hansard source

I am glad to be able to speak to the Broadcasting Legislation Amendment (Primary Television Broadcasting Service) Bill 2015. Digital television has been the No. 1 point of aggravation in my electorate of Paterson since before the digital TV switchover. I have made more speeches on this topic in this parliament than perhaps any other topic. I am advised by ACMA that over 50 per cent of all the complaints nationally on digital television reception emanate from my electorate. So I see this as a good process. I see it as a good process because people will be able to receive high-quality, high-definition television in their houses. But I would be less than honest if I did not say that digital television has been the bane of my existence now for over three years. Ever since the previous Labor government switched off the analog TV in my electorate of Paterson back in November 2012 for digital TV, services have diminished.

This bill amends the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 to enable free-to-air broadcasters to deliver programming on their primary television service in either standard-definition or high-definition formats. Currently, free-to-air broadcasters are required to transmit their primary service in standard definition only. This reform arose from a review of the digital television regulatory framework conducted in 2014-15, of which I was in strong support, and the proposal received strong support from the free-to-air broadcasters and the general public alike.

To provide some level of context: prior to the digital switchover in November 2012, I warned the previous Labor government. I met with the then minister, Senator Conroy, and I advised him that the existing self-help transmitters would have to be upgraded, and there would need to be new transmitters installed across my electorate to ensure that my constituents would continue to receive reliable television reception. The last analog services ceased in Paterson, as I said, in November 2012, and a reorganisation of television services, or restack, commenced in my electorate at that time. It was designed to utilise most efficiently the digital dividend spectrum resulting from the switch to digital television, but what resulted was an intermittent or, in many towns in Paterson, nonexistent digital television reception.

My electorate is an electorate of immense topography—valleys and lots of treed areas—and the analog signal transmitted will travel through the valleys. It was not an either-or, which the digital signal is. People would get a fading of a signal. They did not always get sound, but they would not lose their picture entirely. If they were watching the golf, I suppose the ball would get lost in the snow, but they would maintain a picture. There is nothing more frustrating with a digital television signal that is there one minute and not there the next. This is what my constituents, in large part, have had to deal with. In fact, thousands of my constituents over the last three years have absolutely suffered through unreliable digital television reception. Areas like Karuah, the Tilligerry Peninsula, Medowie, Stroud, Gresford and Bulahdelah have either very little service or no service at all. Prior to 2012, as I said, these residents had had a reasonably reliable analog reception to fall back on. Now they do not. This has created an extremely intense environment when, for instance, the cricket is being broadcast or when the tennis or the football grand finals are on TV. My constituents were reconciled to the fact that more often than not their television reception would give way and they would be faced with a blank television screen instead of watching—I suppose in a dream—the Ashes come back to Australia.

I welcome this bill, as it proposes amendments that require the broadcasters to provide their primary service in both high definition and standard definition. I will welcome it even further when all of my constituents can actually receive a reliable television signal. Ten years ago, when the requirement for broadcasters to provide primary services in standard definition was introduced, this was at the infancy of digital switchover processes. At this time not all televisions were capable of receiving high-definition content. In fact, most of the first range of digital televisions were standard-definition televisions. However, in a contemporary setting this landscape has dramatically changed, even in regional and rural areas such as Paterson. A recent Newspoll survey found that 96 per cent of households have a main television set or a set-top box capable of receiving high-definition content. Naturally, as high-definition television can now be found in almost every Australian home, many Australians now expect premium quality free-to-air programming to be provided in high definition. This is especially true for the sports-mad constituents of Paterson when it comes to live sport. This requirement to provide the primary channel in standard definition is now unnecessary and prevents broadcasters from providing services that respond to audience preferences.

This was only further aggravated for the constituents of Paterson, who, when they thought they could view their favourite sporting matches and could finally get a signal, would suffer from poor-quality television and not receive the high definition that they would prefer. I keep saying it, but thousands of my constituents still suffer from poor digital television reception that regularly drops out, and even more on hot summer days—and, as we all know, it is over the summer period that our television screens are graced with an increase in sporting presence and people are on holidays and at home trying to watch that sport. As I said before, I am informed that over 50 per cent of all the complaints to ACMA actually came from my electorate. My electorate office phones would ring off the hooks for days, and I want to use this as an opportunity to tell my electorate that I have listened and I will continue to listen and, more importantly, this government is listening, unlike the former Labor government.

I also want to take the opportunity to update the House and my constituents of Paterson on what action has been recently taken to advance their cause as we receive some great news of great outcomes for Paterson in relation to digital television. I was and continue to be actively involved in the passionate debate with my local broadcasters, Regional Broadcasters Australia Holdings, which is made up of Prime, NBN, Southern Cross Ten, ABC and SBS. I also deal regularly with the Department of Communications and my ministerial colleague Malcolm Turnbull to try and fix these digital television reception issues that more than a third of my constituency suffer from. There are technical issues that need to be addressed: issues such as convergence of signal, which has a dramatic effect. But I will say that the regional broadcasters, who have a responsibility to transmit that signal in a reception as good as the analog signal was, have failed and they have dragged their heels, kicking and screaming, to come to the position we have been in over the last two years.

Two weeks ago, I welcomed my colleague the Minister for Communications, Malcolm Turnbull, to Paterson, where he announced funding of $827,690 to dramatically improve the issues of digital television for many of my constituents, particularly in the warmer arid months. This $827,000 of funding was secured from both the federal government and Regional Broadcasters Australia Holdings to improve digital television coverage in Paterson. Constituents will experience improved digital television transmissions at three sites under phase 1 of the rollout. One of these will be at Port Stephens—the Gan Gan transmitter. There will be a new tower facility installed at Bulahdelah, and there will be a new tower facility at Wallaroo, which will service Medowie, Salt Ash and the Tilligerry Peninsula. Close to 25,000 people will benefit from this improved transmission. Many will receive digital television for the first time.

But there are still works to be done and negotiations to be completed with the broadcasters for areas such as Stroud and the Dungog Vacy region. The RBAH in all negotiations are committed to the upgrades of Stroud and Dungog Vacy in phase 2 of their infrastructure upgrades, and I intend to keep them to their word to make sure that these areas are not left behind. I want to give assurances to the townships of Dungog, Vacy and Stroud: I will hold the RBAH to their commitment for your towns.

I was somewhat surprised and interested last night in this House in the adjournment debate by a speech by the member for Charlton. He made complaints about digital television transmission for his constituents. I acknowledge that he has only been here two years. That is probably the first time we have heard about it from him. But these problems would have been paralleled over the same time frame as those of constituents from my electorate, and his former boss, the former member for Charlton, did absolutely nothing about it, even though he was in government and had the opportunity to directly influence Senator Conroy, the then minister, to do something about it. He did nothing. He sat on his hands, just like the current member for Charlton has done for two years. He now wants to whinge because my lobbying has delivered the minister bringing together a package for my constituents. I have been lobbying for this, in honesty, for over five years.

I have had some complaints from other areas in my electorate that their services have not been upgraded yet. I commit to them that I will continue to fight for them. I also want to note that the Paterson-Tocal area recently received funding from the Commonwealth under the Mobile Black Spot Program. Their mobile telephone service was deemed to be the worst in my electorate. Other areas like Port Stephens and the Great Lakes missed out on the first round of funding, as their reception was deemed to be poor but not as bad.

Likewise, the RBAH identified Bulahdelah and Medowie—the Wallaroo area—as the worst areas for digital television. They had no infrastructure at all. The RBAH acknowledged that Stroud, Dungog and Vacy have digital TV reception issues with their existing infrastructure and acknowledged that this needs to be upgraded or moved. The RBAH have committed to fixing this problem themselves after the current phase 1 rollout is completed.

I welcome the implementation of this amendment bill for my constituents in Paterson and for the many ways that its introduction can directly benefit them. It can improve their viewing quality but, as I said, improved viewing quality actually comes with the ability to receive a television signal. I look forward to continuing my work for my constituents in Paterson and receiving real and tangible outcomes for the benefit of all of my constituents that improve their quality of life and recreational enjoyment, such as the recent win with digital television funding. I commend this bill to the House.

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