014/07 2 March 2007
Labor plans a Digital Disaster
Labor’s plans to abolish Digital Australia would be a digital disaster for Australia and would be bad for consumers, bad for television and bad for the economy, the Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, Senator Helen Coonan said today.
“Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd is desperate to find the cash to fund his litany of uncosted and untested election promises and is willing to abandon all plans to transition Australian television from analogue to digital,” Senator Coonan said.
“Mr Rudd is robbing consumers of the opportunity for new digital television services and robbing Australians of the digital dividend that the switchover from analogue would bring.
“By getting to switchover by 2010-2012 as planned, the costly simulcast period will end. Simulcast has cost the Government more than $1 billion to date. Getting to switchover also frees up valuable spectrum which can raise revenue as well as provide new services for consumers.
“In an embarrassing backflip Mr Rudd has even gone so far as to roll his communications spokesman Senator Stephen Conroy who has recognised the economic benefits that the switchover would bring,” Senator Coonan said.
“In a press release on Senator Conroy’s website from 16 March 2006 he states:
“Switching off analogue transmission … allows the spectrum currently used for analogue broadcasting to be reclaimed and used for broadband, additional television channels or new mobile phone services.
“These new services could provide a digital dividend worth billions of dollars to the Australian economy.”
“So Mr Rudd would sacrifice the potential for ‘billions of dollars’ to save $22 million and relegate Australia to the dark ages – he may as well just bring back black and white TV,” Senator Coonan said.
“As major countries such as the UK, US and the broader EU go digital, analogue programming will become scarce and Australian consumers and broadcasters will be left in the lurch and won’t even be able to buy analogue equipment. On top of this, Labor would slash funding for the regulator – the Australian Communications and Media Authority – ACMA.
“Labor must abandon its plans to dump Digital Australia and admit that without a switchover body and a well-resourced regulator, Australia will become a technological backwater.”
Media Contact: Jane McMillan - 0438 690 305