Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Peter Marks, who writes:
A report two years in the making has been released (actually it was a few days ago but there was no fanfare.
I’ve posted about it here: https://blog.marxy.org/2019/10/review-of-australian-broadcasting.html
An interesting conclusion in the report on page 128 is that the authors estimate that shortwave broadcasts to the Asia and Pacific by Australia have a net economic benefit since 2007-08 of $40.3 million.
Presumably this means it would make economic sense for Australia to get back in to Shortwave broadcasting like our clever Chinese neighbours.
I note that it has been10 months since the report was completed before it was published!
I would like to point out that Australia has never ever used long wave for broadcasting. That was restricted to ITU region 1 principally in Europe only.
Since the time they were writing the report China Radio International has taken over the frequencies previously used by Radio Australia. They have also been competing with Australia with aid donations.
During the time that this report was gathering dust, the Australian Communications and Media Authority held an inquiry https://www.acma.gov.au/theACMA/the-future-delivery-of-radio-services-in-australia which took 3 months just to publish the submissions. They are all under the drop down menu of “Other Submissions) They are yet to produce a report on this one.
At the same time as switching off Radio Australia they also switched off domestic HF as well. There is 470,000 people who lose all radio when they are mobile having left their homestead or village. So there is a case for economy of scale to use HF DRM transmitters for Radio Australia and domestic broadcasting. After all New Zealand can do it and have had to take over the roll of “Emergency Broadcaster”.
> “I would like to point out that Australia has never ever used long wave for broadcasting.”
“Never ever”, huh?
2FC on 273kHz from 1923 to 1927; 3LO on 174kHz from 1925 to 1926; and not forgetting the one _you_ of all commenters here should be aware of – and the longest running Australian LW broadcaster of them all – 6WF on 240kHz from 1924 to 1929.
Still, the report only mentions LW in passing as a band that hasn’t been used for BC here since the late 1920’s, so why even bring it up?