With respect I paste reply about Radio Australia short wave being terminated.

Dear Mr Fairfax,

Thank you for your email to the ABC Board expressing concerns about the end of shortwave services. I have been asked to respond on behalf of the ABC.

Please be assured, the ABC does not withdraw its services lightly and the decision to cease the shortwave broadcasts to international audiences was only made after much deliberation.

Under the ABC Act, the ABC Board has an obligation to ensure that “the functions of the Corporation are performed efficiently and to the maximum benefit to the people of Australia”. Within those parameters and operating with a fixed budget, the Board must make continual assessments about the appropriate allocation of funds. The ABC’s history is one of constant adjustment as audience demands and technology changes, recognising that it is impossible to sustain every program and every service in perpetuity, and that investments need to be continually evaluated to ensure ongoing relevance and effectiveness.

The ABC’s closure of the Radio Australia shortwave transmissions is aligned with other international broadcasters such as NHK (Japan), Radio Netherlands, Deutsche Welle (Voice of Germany), BBC World Service and Radio Canada International, who have all either reduced or terminated international shortwave services in recent years, citing an increase in satellite, online and FM listening and a decrease in shortwave listenership.

Radio Australia continues to cover Papua New Guinea and the Pacific via satellite, a network of nine FM transmitters, a range of partner station Radio Australia relay broadcasts, online streaming and a mobile app.

In terms of emergency information, the ABC is assisting public service broadcasters in the region to develop their own emergency management plans as well as how they can collaborate across the region, especially with infrastructure. The ABC is also liaising with relevant stakeholder organisations, such as the Bureau of Meteorology and other disaster management organisations (NDMO Vanuatu) in the region and the role they can play in working with local media.

Thank you for taking the time to write.

Yours sincerely,

Kirstin McLiesh
Head, Audience and Consumer Affairs

End JFAus

This decision affects a big area of Australia as it
affects those people that are remote from other forms
of communication that rely on radio network. Who will
fill the void of warnings of disasters? And, how much
will the ABC save by ending this valuable service?

Remote areas need weather reports and emergency information.
Warning of cyclones both in the bush and for people on
boats.

Very disturbing action taken.

The evidence to the Senate committee by ABC implied that they considered less than 500 people (Sydney based management Consultant) use the service and they had failed to professionally negotiate a renewal at the end of a long term contract, were caught off guard and made a decision they thought they could get away with.

The ABC meets a community service obligation and is publically funded. The minimum service expectation is that its available and has utility to the Australian people regardless of their location - not cut the only service to some to provide extra to those who already have service.

Its decision making process is opaque and free of the scrutiny of other publicly owned & funded corporations (no ACMA or ombudsman for independent handling of complaints on this issue). ABC doesn't even acknowledge complaints as such and considers them reception queries.

Fails to mention the continuing RINZ service to the pacific & new BBC services directed to Asia.

ADF has upgraded its HF capability as a backup to Satellite as its are considered more reliable in an emergency.

Online streaming is unreliable in Australian capital cities when connected to high speed broadband services, 3G and 4G mobile networks - hate to rely on it in a remote area. It does not work in a blackout or emergency due to congestion.

FM transmitters don't reach audiences outside of the larger townships and are subject to civil disturbance and emergency events.

This is an afterthought. The service provided has already been removed and measures proposed do not and never were designed with the utility of the existing service.

Judged against the ABC's stated values, the responses being provided lack integrity and respect. If the ABC lived its values, it would be honest and clearly state that they have withdrawn services without providing an equivalent alternative for 1000's of users - many of whom are transient to the territory - and done so over the wet season / Christmas break when its utilisation is low.

Signed by someone living near Ultimo I presume with DAB, NBN, 4G, FM, AM services

My response to reply from the ABC, is this.

Thank you for reply.
ABC deliberation did not however involve debate on the subject among people of Australia who were listeners, especially those in remote rural regions and at sea and on remote offshore islands including on business or for pleasure in other countries.
There is no more Macca on Sunday.

Australia is a vast country in a vast and remote region of the world, quite different to the crowded nations mentioned in the ABC reply.
Tiny and respectfully cash strapped New Zealand still has Radio New Zealand International (RNZI). However reception is often disrupted. There is need for an alternative and strong signal as radio Australia was.
China Radio International is also broadcasting but the signal is not always there or there at all.
The strong clear signal was from Radio Australia but now the nation of Australia has vanished from the remote regions and is even lost to listeners in the USA.

ABC satellite broadcast needs a receiver dish apparently costing about AUD$600.
Imagine an outback drover or mustering camp or stockmen on horse with a satellite disk, compared to a hand held AM/FM/SW transistor radio.

Australian presence has gone from remote offshore locations. It’s a sad situation out there in the Pacific and no doubt in remote regions of Asia and the remote Australian outback. AM in the outback fades in and out continuously and FM cannot be heard except close to bigger towns.
And Radio Australia short wave was turned off on Australia Day, at about the same time as the new ABC manager received a pay rise to near one million dollars annually, plus expenses no doubt.

I think big losers will be Australian farmers and industry including tourism.
Asian rice is now filling shops and Australian made product is becoming difficult to find.

Does anyone have any suggestion as to how ex communications minister and now Prime Minister Turnbull, could be questioned on screen and air and by print media as to justifiable reason for Radio Australia to remain turned off?

Dear JF Aus,

I don't hold much hope (or trust in) Malcolm Turnbull.

He's the Prime Minister and that's the whole point.
It appears that's basically what he wanted all along.
He gets to give speeches, travel to Summits, sound
dignified and important. He's good at it. He's still the
same, confident, eloquent man we all fell for BUT all of
the things he said he cared for have fallen away and
revealed that inside, there's nothing there at all.

Hi Foxy,

I agree with you there.
You have said it so well.
I am giving him a few more weeks to respond to representation I have asked for through my local MP concerning government interest or not in new water infrastructure.
But I realize to not hold my breath.
I have not seen any comment from him about closure of Radio Australia's 70 years of international shortwave broadcasting.