Submissions to the Australian Government’s review on the closure of ABC shortwave services to the Pacific Region finish today.
The latest submission has come from the Prime Minister of Vanuatu, Charlot Salwai Tabimasmas, who has called on the Australian Government to resume the shortwave services.
The PM says the removal of the service could cost lives in the likelihood of another natural disaster, such as Tropical Cyclone Pam in 2015.
He argues that limited access to modern communications technology in outlying islands of Vanuatu, as well as the unlikelihood of a comprehensive implementation of digital broadcasting alternatives in the near future, means residents in these areas are reliant on shortwave services.
Meanwhile, as reported in June, China Radio International has taken over some of the abandoned shortwave radio frequencies in the Pacific region.
