A reprieve for shortwave?
by Barclay White February 16, 2017
The
shortwave broadcast station which beamed Radio Australia to the Pacific from
Shepparton could be coming back online.
South Australian senator Nick
Xenophon earlier this week introduced a bill to parliament, which if passed
would force the ABC to bring back shortwave broadcasts.
The ABC shut down
international shortwave broadcasting from its Shepparton facility last month, at
the same time it stopped domestic shortwave broadcasts in the Northern
Territory.
Senator Xenophon criticised the decision, which was made by
ABC management and not the Federal Government, labelling it
shortsighted.
‘‘The response to the shortwave cut-off demonstrates the
woeful inadequacy of the ABC’s consultation process,’’ Senator Xenophon
said.
‘‘Not only have we heard from many rural Australians concerned
about the decision, our near neighbours such as Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea
have also voiced serious concerns.’’
When he introduced the bill to the
senate, Senator Xenophon said the ending of shortwave diminished the voice of
Australia in the important Pacific region.
‘‘The cost-cutting decision
will save $1.9million a year — a tiny fraction of the ABC’s $1billion-plus
annual budget,’’ he said.
Former radio engineer at the Shepparton
shortwave station Gary Baker had lobbied various politicians to avoid the
shutdown and was glad Senator Xenophon was pushing the government on the
issue.
But he warned that if the shutdown was reversed, it could be
difficult to get the broadcasts back online.
He said many of the
technical staff who worked at the site had lost their jobs and shortwave
engineering was a highly specialised field.
‘‘Staffing will be the
biggest issue. You can’t just grab someone off the street and get them to run
Radio Australia,’’ Mr Baker said.
‘‘It is a bit like going to a GP and
saying ‘right, now you are a brain surgeon’.’’
By Barclay
White
February 16, 2017 (via Artie Bigley, DXLD)
