Stephen Conroy (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

I am delighted to report that Mildura-Sunraysia is absolutely ready to switch to digital-only television in one week from today. At 9 am next Wednesday, 30 June, I will be in Mildura when we turn off the analog television signal forever. The people of Mildura have, in the space of a couple of years, moved from having some of the worst television reception and the most limited choice of channels in the country to leading Australia in the move to 16 or more channels of clear pictures and crisp sound. Virtually 100 per cent of the households in Mildura are digital ready, according to the government’s digital tracker survey. Over 2,300 households have been helped to convert to digital TV under the government’s household assistance scheme. Broadcasters have also played their part, installing three new transmitters to serve known black spots in Ouyen, Underbool and Robinvale. Local antenna installer Rohan Gregg has described the new Ouyen transmitter as ‘one of the best things we’ve had happen since the great Australian vanilla slice’.

The government has launched a new satellite service to serve viewers in remote Australia and regional black spots. This service is known as viewer access satellite television, or VAST, and it is transmitting in the Sunraysia region today. Steve Petschel, manager of Mildura’s Teletune, has been out installing satellite receivers and told the Sunraysia Daily today:

It’s all going according to plan, so we’re quite confident and looking forward to next week.

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