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I have always maintained that the ABC should have a soft power presence around the world particularly in the Asia-Pacific region.
The decision by previous management of the ABC to switch off the Radio Australia in 2017 was DUMB, DUMB and DUMB!
There must have been something in the water cooler at the Ultimo HQ when that decision was made.
Having an FM re-broadcast and streaming of the ABC service via the internet to our neighbours is subject to having the power being switched off at the FM re-broadcast transmitter or by stopping ip traffic from the ABC entering the particular country.
May I add that not only AM SW transmissions resume, but also adopting DRM+ SW transmissions. The DRM+ has been demonstrated to have a clean clear signal which is not subject to ionospheric interference as AM SW transmissions.
Furthermore, the Federal Government as part of an aid package to our Asia-Pacific neighbours is to provide DRM+ receivers should DRM+ SW transmissions be adopted as a method of transmission of ABC programs.
Thank you,
Anthony of we have porridge-for-brains decision makers, Belfield in the land of the Wangal and Darug Peoples of the Eora Nation.
... nope the Australia TV Network was not "closed in 2014 after federal budget cuts ... it was a commercial contract awarded to the ABC without tender by Julia Gillard and Stephen Conroy despite DFAT itself determining that the ABC's bid was non-compliant with the original tender ... this was never part of ABC funding and was not part of the budget cuts imposed by Tony Abbott ... DFAT simply cancelled the contract because the ABC was not doing the "soft-diplomacy" required in the terms of the contract but had instead combined it with the ABC news department in breach of the ABC's own policy on keeping commercial contracts and ABC program requirements separate ... the 1995 inquiry which saw David Hill and Paddy Conroy shown the door determined that similar commercial contracts involving ABC programming, including with DoD, potentially breached s.25 of the ABC Act 1983 ...