Doug Coates

Mr Gordon Neil

General Manager

Licenced Broadcasting

DCITA

Canberra ACT 2600

E-mail: gordon.neil@dcita.gov.au

Dear Sir

Review of roles of ABA and ACA

Reading the Department's Discussion Paper on the roles of the ABA and the ACA reminded me of the person who, when asked for directions to another place, responded "Well, I would not be starting from here".

Starting from an inappropriate place runs the risk of asking the wrong questions and hence being provided with misleading answers. For example, the question about the ongoing viability of the ABA as a separate entity could be just such a question.

A number of well informed people have expressed the view that in an environment of dramatic technological change resulting in convergence of broadcasting, telecommunications and information technology, the regulatory regime should not try to be too prescriptive about particular platforms. Nevertheless recognising the central importance of the converging industries in developed countries, it is possible to identify several distinct areas of regulation where broad objectives may be pursued. These are:

• Cultural Policy (including content matters such as intellectual property rights, freedom of information, privacy and media diversity)
• Social Equity (involving availability of services, subsidies and transfer payments)
• Connectivity
• Competition
• Scarce resource (radio spectrum) allocation

It is also possible to identify certain of the existing regulatory institutions most closely, but not exclusively, with each of these areas. The key questions are likely to revolve around the boundaries between each of the regulatory areas and institutions, which need to be approached at a strategic level before becoming enmeshed in minutiae concerning which activities belong in which institutions. These potentially sensitive "turf" issues are better addressed from the perspective of a robust strategic framework rather than in a piecemeal fashion.

As a person with experience not only in the convergent industries but also in restructuring of several other industries, I think that I am well placed to comment on these issues. Before you rule these comments as lying outside the Terms of Reference for this Review, I would urge you to give more explicit consideration to identification of the various Policy, Regulatory and Operational Functions involved in regulating the convergent industries. These may then be viewed in the context of other related functions, such as general competition regulation, government policy formulation etc.. Indeed, such an analysis forms a pre-requisite to any meaningful understanding of the relevence of overseas regulatory regimes to the Australian situation. Whilst the recommendations of the Productivity Commission may be eminently sensible, they appear to focus excessively on certain structures and are lacking a complete regulatory picture, given the narrower focus of the PC's review on competition regulation.

When the overall strategy is identified, the question of the responsibility and mechanism for allocating radio spectrum is likely to be a second-order consideration compared to matters such as the structure and regulatory objectives of legislation.

Yours faithfully

Doug Coates

305/87 Yarranabbe Road

Darling Point. NSW 2027

doug.coates@bigpond.com