Warren Snowdon (Lingiari, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for External Territories) Share this | Hansard source

I have listened to the minister stump and thump and beat his chest about how good he is and how good the government is. In the context of telecommunications and service delivery in the north of Australia, he has been absolutely absent. I might say that a recent issue which brought the community's attention to the lack of interest by the government in people who live in my communities in Lingiari, and indeed the Northern Territory generally, was the decision by the ABC to shut down short-wave radio.

This issue was not seen at all by the government for a long while. We had no participation from the Northern Territory CLP senator around this issue, but it was something which drove a lot of energy through the pastoral community of the Northern Territory—a community which is very important to the economy of the Northern Territory and, indeed, the economy of Australia in terms of live cattle exports. It was raised by truck drivers across the Northern Territory, who used short-wave radio regularly. It was raised by fisherpeople in the Northern Territory who used the short-wave radio service. It was raised by ranger services in the Northern Territory who used this range of services. It was raised by people who are travellers in the Northern Territory who relied on those services.

Indeed, the response from the ABC was less than informative because, in the first instance, we were told that they consulted widely. We learnt later from Ms Guthrie, in evidence to the Senate, that in fact there had been no prior consultation with the communities of northern Australia around the proposal to cut the short-wave radio service. They said that, in its place, the VAST service would work, and that would be able to be utilised by people in the bush. In fact, of course, the VAST service is only useful if you are stationary, and people who relied on the short-wave service were travelling. I say to the minister that it was a shame that there was no interest taken in this subject by the government. What we have seen, in response to the ridiculous assertions made by the ABC and the mismanagement of this process by the ABC, is that Mr Jay Mohr-Bell, a cattle station manager outside of Katherine, dismissed the ABC's view by saying:

The ABC fails to understand that their audience who listens to local ABC via shortwave do not 'favour' this service, this is their only available service.

He told The Guardian:

The ABC likes to be heard but fails to listen. Essentially the ABC is closing down the shortwave service and replacing it with nothing.

Minister, you may see this as something which is of no interest to you, but it is of great interest to the people of Lingiari and, indeed, the people of northern Australia generally. It typifies a lack of interest by your government in people who live in my electorate.

I give you the example of a barramundi farm in Humpty Doo. Humpty Doo Barramundi is the largest barramundi farm in the country and one of the most successful farms of its type in the country. It is halfway between Darwin and Kakadu in Humpty Doo on Anzac Parade. It does not have effectively any telecommunication services. This is a commercial operation that is at the forefront of its industry and it has a lack of telecommunication services. This is the responsibility of you and your government and yet nothing has been done for them.

Most importantly, Minister, I find it hard to believe that you could look past this decision by the ABC to cut this shortwave service in the Northern Territory and not request they do something to replace it, because there is nothing in place at the moment that can replace this service. I am wanting to know how much was set aside in the budget to ensure that the people I have referred to—the cattlemen, the fisherfolk, the tourists and the residents of northern Australia who have relied on these shortwave services—are not punished for the coalition's savage cuts to the ABC? How much has been put into the budget to ensure they have a replacement service that is actually effective and works?

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