Senator TIERNEY (7:19 PM) —I seek leave to have the rest of my remarks incorporated in Hansard .

Leave granted.

The speech read as follows—

British broadcasters are very excited about interactive services. The BBC is focusing on offering high quality interactive services.

Cable or Pay TV offers the best interactive services as signal comes in through cable and consumer response goes out through cable. This is a good example of a convergence of television and Internet technologies.

In the UK Cable or Pay-TV will result in anywhere from 60 to 1,000 plus channels. The BBC said the second tranche of digital would offer even greater interactive services and more intelligent set top boxes. Broadcasters in the UK plan to have an Electronic Program Guide (EPG) which is a menu which brings up a whole range of digital services.

I had an opportunity to make a comparison of what this Government is doing to facilitate a change to digital technology and what other developed nations like Britain plan. The feedback I got was that Australia is well advanced in the digital revolution.

This Government's digital broadcasting package is well balanced. It gives a positive outcome for all parties—- including consumers in rural and regional Australia.

It ensures consumers will have maximum opportunity to access new and enhanced services at a reasonable cost, it ensures a realistic simulcasting period and the community obligation—of Australian content will be maintained.

From my study of overseas developments we can see that this Government's policy makes Australia a world leader. This country is now ready to take an active role in the digital revolution.