Senator Bourne asked the Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, upon notice, on 6 September 2001:

With reference to the rollout of radio services to regional and remote areas by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC):

(1) What plans does the ABC have, if any, for providing the remote community of Carnarvon, Western Australia, with the Triple J radio service.

(2) Is the Minister aware that the local community has raised up to $5 000 to meet the costs associated with the installation of a transmission facility.

(3) Can the Minister provide additional details of any government funding programs which the Carnarvon community might apply to obtain the remainder of the funds required to install a transmission facility (the total estimated at $10 000).

(4) Can the Minister advise whether the collection of any or all of the costs associated with the installation of the transmitter will guarantee that Carnarvon will be provided with the ABC's Triple J radio service.

Senator Alston (Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts) —The answer to the honourable senator's question is as follows:

(1) The ABC has advised that it has no current plans to extend the Triple J network to Carnarvon.

(2) No. In July 2001 the Office of the Hon Dr David Kemp MP did, however, forward a representation the Minister had received from the Triple J 4 Carnarvon Group (WA) seeking funding assistance to establish a Triple J self-help retransmission service. That representation gave no indication that the community had raised any funds towards the establishment of the service.

(3) There are currently no Government programs available that would offer financial assistance towards the establishment of a Triple J self-help service by Carnarvon or any other Australian community. I understand that the Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts has already conveyed this information to the Triple J 4 Carnarvon Group (WA), along with some suggestions on how it could seek to minimise its establishment costs.

In relation to ongoing costs, the Department has advised the Group that communities that are able to locate their self-help equipment on National Transmission Network (NTN) sites may be eligible to pay subsidised site access rates for a period of 10 years under the Regional Communications Partnership's Self-help Subsidy Scheme.

The $10 million Scheme has been jointly established by the Commonwealth and ntl - the owner of the NTN. (The Commonwealth's $5 million contribution was sourced from the Television Fund established with proceeds from the second sale of Telstra shares.) In relation to the retransmission of national broadcasting services, such as ABC Triple J radio, groups would be charged a fixed rate of $250 per annum plus GST.

As ntl is responsible for administering this Scheme, self-help groups seeking subsidised access to NTN sites should contact ntl in the first instance. All enquiries should be directed to ntl's Facility Leasing and Property Manager (tel: 02 6256 8075 / fax: 02 6256 8041)

(4) There should be no impediment to the Carnarvon community establishing a Triple J self-help service provided the Australian Broadcasting Authority is able to identify a suitable frequency and sufficient funds are raised (or committed) to meet all of the establishment and ongoing operations and maintenance costs for the new service.