Announcement of the Radiocommunications Bill now outlined on WIA News.
Quote:"A single licensing system is promoted as the centrepiece of the Bill."
"Amateur radio licensing and licence conditions are not mentioned in the Bill . . "
" . . the Government intends to present a further Exposure Draft to stakeholders for comment before finalising the legislation for introduction to Parliament."
Get the skinny here:
wia.org.au news
Hello Roger,
Thanks for posting the information.
I suppose in the brave new world of greatly intensified spectrum usage we should not be surprised if the powers that be wish to streamline processes in the name of efficiency and facilitation of economic activity, elevation of the social good and all that waffle, but I can't help but wonder if there is a parallel agenda when I see your comment...
"As expected, the Bill will enable the ACMA to delegate any or all of its general licencing functions or powers to an eligible Australian corporation."
Admittedly I haven't read the documentation and it may be that an 'eligible' corporation is defined fairly narrowly (as I would hope). But does it potentially mean we could all be applying for our licenses over the counter at Woolworths? or maybe at the Australia Post shop? Hey, maybe even at McDonalds? Fries with that?
A brave new world indeed.
73s
Ian
VK3YCQ
VK3YCQ Wrote:Admittedly I haven't read the documentation and it may be that an 'eligible' corporation is defined fairly narrowly
I sat and read almost the entire ACMA document a couple of nights ago and the eligibility facet is not expanded in the Bill. I would suspect that an organisation like the WIA might be an eligible corporation in respect of amateur radio related licensing (Part 3a below refers) where McDonalds would not be regarded as having relevant expertise. i.e. ineligible. Sorry, no fries!!
Extracted from Section 200:
"(3) In deciding whether to delegate, under subsection (1), any or all of the ACMA’s general licensing functions or powers to an eligible Australian corporation, the ACMA must have regard to:
(a) whether the corporation has the capacity to properly perform the role of a delegate; and
(b) such other matters (if any) as the ACMA considers relevant. "
Given that the existing Radiocommunications Act has been if force for some years, it seems strange that certain things have to be "in writing", and given the accelerating move towards electronic documentation exchanges, there is no definition in the Bill of "in writing" included such that it specifically includes electronic formats as acceptable.
This Bill is a pre-requisite to a new Amateur LCD - possibly coming later this year once the dust settles - if the rumours are to be believed.
Thanks for the comments, Ian and Doug. Duly noted.