Senator BOURNE (9:23 PM) —by leave—I move:

the Commonwealth is liable to pay compensation of a reasonable amount to the person in respect of the acquisition.

The amendments that the Democrats are moving today would require that, in the case of any international broadcasting licence when it applies to a transmission facility—and this would include Cox Peninsula and any other transmission facility that was built in Australia to these specifications—that has a capacity to broadcast simultaneously on more than three short-wave frequencies, the licensee `must, at all times, make one short-wave signal on appropriate frequencies and bearings available to the ABC for the exclusive use of Radio Australia'. I think at Cox Peninsula they have the capacity to broadcast on five; they used to broadcast on four and they left one as a standby in case one of the others went down, so they do have that capacity. In moving these amendments, I would like to quote Sir Robert Menzies. When Sir Robert Menzies set up Radio Australia more than 60 years ago, he said:

He was so proud of Radio Australia. He was so proud of the fact that he had set up this broadcasting service that went into the region so that Australia would be understood in the region and so that our regional neighbours would get news that was clear and precise and unbiased, and would get a picture of Australia that was clear and precise. He was so proud of it, and it is such a tragedy. What has happened to what was one of his great legacies is such a dishonour to the memory of Sir Robert Menzies. I think Radio Australia is a great legacy of his. I think what has happened to Radio Australia is an absolute disgrace.

Senator Schacht —It is a disgrace to see how the Liberal Party has sunk since Sir Robert Menzies' days. It has descended into a pit of mediocrity.

Senator BOURNE —I agree—although perhaps the minister might not—with much of what Senator Schacht has said about Radio Australia and the absolute tragedy of the way it has been cut back. This government did try to destroy it. I remember that plan A was: no more Radio Australia; it has gone. Plan B was: it can go out on satellite—and of course that was just ridiculous. Plan C: it can go out on short wave but not ours, somebody else's; we will give you a bit of money and you can go and try to find someone who will transmit it on short wave. They did find someone in Taiwan and, I think, in Singapore for some time. But of course it was not adequate: the number of languages that went out was not anywhere near the number it used to be when the service went out from Cox Peninsula. Now we are up to plan D, which is: we will give you a little bit of money because we have actually decided that it is an important service and you can do a bit with it. As to that bit that the ABC and Radio Aust-ralia want to do with it, one of the things in-volved will be transmitting from Cox Peninsula.

I should say that I have spoken to the new owners of Cox Peninsula and they are more than happy to put out Radio Australia on one of their bandwiths, one of their appropriate frequencies and bearings, for an appropriate price. I am sure they would be quite happy to live with these amendments. They would have no problem with them. There is a possibility that another broadcaster will be building a facility in northern Australia—not an Australian company, I understand—and I have been contacted by them as well. They are also happy with this. If they do decide to put in their transmission facility and they get an international broadcasting licence, they would also be more than happy to abide by what would happen if these amendments went through.

These are important amendments. As I said, they would mean that as long as the transmission facility at Cox Peninsula was available Radio Australia would always be able to go out from that facility, even if somebody else bought the facility or whether it was still the people who have bought it now. There is no problem according to the people who currently own the facility and there would be no problem according to a representative of the company who are considering building a similar facility also in northern Australia.

The really important thing about these amendments is that they would mean that Radio Australia could not be cut out of at least the Cox Peninsula facility as long as they had the money to pay an appropriate amount to get the signal on air. There is no problem with the people who currently own that facility. If they decide to sell that facility to someone else and new arrangements are made and if these amendments have gone through, those new arrangements would have to include the ability of the new licensee to put Radio Australia on air from Cox Peninsula. It is absolutely essential that Radio Australia has that capacity and has the certainty that they will always have available to them from Cox Peninsula, as long as the capacity is there to put out more than three signals, the ability to say, `We require that we are able to put out a short-wave signal on appropriate frequencies and bearings from this facility'—a facility that should never have been sold and taken away from Radio Australia. They are having to claw it back, and I think it is so important that they are able to use that facility. As I said, the current owners are more than happy for them to use it and they are currently negotiating, I understand, for that to happen. The important thing would be that every owner in the future would know that they would have to do the same negotiation with the ABC to put Radio Australia into the region that our parliament and our government believe is so important, so that the great legacy that Sir Robert Menzies started, to put this service from Australia into the region, would continue. I commend these to the Senate.