Project and Discussions | Infrastructure

[docker]

So stuff like hospitals, police stations, schools, ports etc...

[hack404]

How about non-commuter rail?

[acc521]

I guess this will the be the most active thread of the next 4 years with all of Barney's plans :lol:

[Scraperfan]

and the $20 billion fund from the feds.

[perthgazer]

Not so fast
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24442243-12377,00.html

Coalition may block $20bn fund

By Julian Drape and Gabrielle Dunley | October 03, 2008

FEDERAL Labor's plan to fast-track its $20 billion infrastructure fund could be derailed by the Coalition, which is concerned the planned big spend could become a big slush fund.

The Council of Australian Governments (COAG) yesterday agreed to speed up the government's infrastructure plan in an attempt to help shield the economy from continuing global financial turmoil.

But Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull says the Coalition is worried about the fund's administration.

"The big concern we have with (Prime Minister) Kevin Rudd's infrastructure funds is that they will just be used as a slush fund to bail out flailing state Labor governments who have infrastructure problems that they've allowed to accumulate," Mr Turnbull told ABC Radio.

Labor plans to introduce legislation to create the $20bn Building Australia Fund in the next few weeks.

Infrastructure Minister Anthony Albanese says the independent Infrastructure Australia could start allocating funds as soon as next May's federal Budget.

And he's warned the Coalition not to block the Bill in the senate.

"The Opposition should get out of the way and support Labor's agenda," Mr Albanese said.

"They had nothing to say about infrastructure for 12 long years.

"Now that the Commonwealth is getting on with the business of nation building ... they are sniping at the sidelines."

Nevertheless, Opposition infrastructure spokesman Andrew Robb is refusing to guarantee the laws' safe passage through parliament.

"We will take a very hard-nosed view about the legislation and about the process to make sure this money is spent wisely, as it must be on infrastructure, and not squandered," Mr Robb told ABC Radio.

The Coalition wasn't opposed to the infrastructure fund in principle, but it couldn't support legislation it was yet to see, he said.

"We've yet to see any of the detail yet. They (Labor) are asking us to sign a blank cheque.

"What we will look at is how rigorous is the process, how transparent is the process."

Mr Rudd challenged the Opposition to support the fund, so that vital rail, road, telecommunications and port projects could begin.

"I think they are radically out of step with the mood of the Australian nation and the needs of the Australian economy," the Prime Minister said in Brisbane.

"My challenge to them is: act responsibly, support this legislation through the parliament, because we want to get on with the business of nation building and do it with a significant fund to back us through."

[Scraperfan]

hands off our slush fund you sydneysiders!

we handled our infrastructure needs well and we should not be penalised for the good management.

suffer in ya jocks nsw. zero sympathy.

[dallastexjr]

Sounds like the Opposition is just giving a warning shot that it wants details on projects to keep the government accountable. That's what a good opposition should be doing, I guess. Oh wait, the WA Libs are in power and they didn't come close...

[docker]

http://www.thewest.com.au/default.aspx?MenuID=77&ContentID=101795

$6b upgrade of power network could double bills
9th October 2008, 6:00 WST


Power bills could double from next year, 30 per cent more than previously forecast, after Western Power revealed it wanted State Government approval to spend up to $6 billion upgrading its ageing network.

Under the previous Labor government, electricity bills were set to increase by 72 per cent over eight years from July 2009 to bring residential electricity tariffs in line with massive increases in the cost of producing power.

But that rise did not include Western Power’s new, expanded three-year capital works program, which the utility yesterday submitted for approval to the State’s electricity regulator, the Economic Regulation Authority.

Western Power, which transmits electricity to homes and industry, has asked for a steep increase in the price it charges customers such as Synergy to use its network in order to recoup the cost of its new investment. These charges account for about 30 per cent of residential electricity bills.

Western Power has asked the ERA to approve a 40 per cent increase in network charges in 2009-10 and a 30 per cent increase in each of the following two years.

If approved, factoring these moves into previous Government forecasts would mean domestic power bills, which have not increased since 1997, would have to jump more than 100 per cent over the eight years.

Western Power managing director Doug Aberle said yesterday the considerable increase in its expenditure plans reflected the State’s unprecedented economic growth.

“The demand for electricity infrastructure to meet the sustained high volume of new customer connections and increasing power use per customer is occurring at a time when much of the network is reaching capacity and the end of its lifespan, and therefore needing major expansion and upgrading when the cost of money, materials, land and skilled labour is increasing dramatically,” he said.

Last financial year, Western Power spent almost $1 billion upgrading and expanding its network, about four times the amount it spent in 2002-03. It estimates it will need to double that to $2 billion a year for the next three years. Mr Aberle said a substantial effort had gone into the submission and warned of risks to public safety and the reliability of electricity supply if its plans to upgrade the network were not approved.

Energy Minister Peter Collier said it was inevitable some network cost increases would be passed on to consumers as retail tariffs needed to be made cost-reflective.

The ERA has set out a period of six weeks for initial public comment on the submission.

PETER KERR

[aaronaugi1]

Doubleing bills is awesome news. Finally people will have some incntive to conserve power.

I never understood why they introduce water watch scheme's and restrictions rather than just raising the prices to drive down demand.....oh wait, thats politically unpopular. silly me.

[WAuzzie]

sum1 explain, i thought western power got renames synergry hence the logo on the power bills which used to be western power. i now see it sill exisits, they both do.
clear it up for me.

[Dilaz89]

Western Power was split into 4 companies- Western Power who administer power services, Verve which deals with power plants, Synergy who are the power retailer for the south western part of the state and Horizon who deal with the same issue outside the south-west.

[WAuzzie]

wow. random. thanx

[scotdaliney]

Westerm Power owns the network (wires and cables). Verve owns the power stations. Synergy buys power off of verve, pays western power to distribute the power and sells it to the user both residential and business. Horizon is a mix of all three anywhere outside of the South West interconnected system.
Commercial sized customers can choose to purchase power off of Alinta instead. I would assume they would have to pay Western Power as well. I think they also have their own power generation.

[jackso]

And Barney announced today that he will be re-amalgamating them.

[Dilaz89]

jesus. It works out to be cheaper for the government thus the taxpayer under the current arangement.

[acc521]

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/10/09/2386447.htm

Western Power break-up 'financial disaster' for WA

The Premier Colin Barnett has flagged plans to re-amalgamate parts of the former Western Power.

Mr Barnett says the break-up of the corporation under Labor has been a financial catastrophe for the state, in particular for Verve Energy, which is responsible for power generation.

He says he is considering introducing legislation early next year to amalgamate Verve Energy and the retail arm, Synergy.

Yesterday the Energy Minister Peter Collier warned that electricity bills would have to go up more than expected with Western Power asking for a 40 per cent increase in the network tariff.

Mr Barnett says re-amalgating Verve and Synergy will go some way to stemming the losses confronting Verve.

"I have always argued for the last five years that breaking up the power generation and the power sales arms of what was Western Power was a mistake," he said.

"It has been proven to not only be a mistake but to be a financial disaster for Western Australia and a serious, serious problem for electricity customers."

Expressed concern

The state's business lobby has expressed concern about the Mr Barnett's plans to roll back Labor's electricity reforms.

The Opposition Leader, Eric Ripper, says such a move would reduce competition and push up electricity prices even more.

Chamber of Commerce and Industry economist John Nicolaou agrees.

"We are concerned and we would like to see that process at least be completed before a full debate can be put forward as to the success or otherwise of the reform process that the electricity reform process that began a few years ago should be completed," he said.

Price pressure

The Opposition has attacked the plans to re-amalgamate parts of the former Western Power.

The Opposition Leader Eric Ripper says there'll be even more pressure on prices if Mr Barnett goes ahead with his amalgamation plan.

"Amalgamating Synergy and Verve will reduce the level of competition in the system," he said.

"That will increase costs.

"Furthermore it will act as a disincentive to private sector investment, instead of the private sector building power stations, the taxpayers will have to build power stations. "

[scotdaliney]

I thought Liberal was meant to for privatisation and Labor for state ownership. How things change.

[acc521]

So far all we have seen with this government is a desire to roll back things to they way there were 8 years ago.

[Auxodium]

wow. random. thanx

how is that random??? the ALP have been talking about it during their term of government for 8 years... and just prior to 2001! :bash:

[WAuzzie]

dunno.
it all happand while i was living outside of perth ... so i came back and the bills say synergy not western power... tiz all i knew

[docker]

http://www.thewest.com.au/default.aspx?MenuID=77&ContentID=104048

Government flags RPH changes
22nd October 2008, 14:30 WST

Royal Perth Hospital’s Shenton Park Campus could be moved to the inner city site under a plan flagged by Health Minister Kim Hames this afternoon.

Speaking at a press conference to announce the formation of a committee to oversee the redevelopment plans for Royal Perth Hospital, Dr Hames said the Shenton Park rehabilitation campus could be closed and moved to the CBD precinct.

“It’s a very old building, it in no way provides for the needs of the people of Western Australia and there’s an opportunity for us to look at that,” Dr Hames said. “We can have an integrated system of rehabilitation on one side and a major trauma hospital on the other.”

Dr Hames said the State Government was also considering a previous proposal to move the Shenton Park facility to the Fiona Stanley Hospital site in Perth’s southern suburbs.

“We want to consider the alternative of being able to do it much quicker on the Royal Perth Hospital site,” he said.

Dr Hames also announced a step forward in the plans for the redevelopment of Royal Perth Hospital, with the formation of a committee to oversee the plans and encourage community input into the historic redevelopment over the next four years.

The minister said RPH would become a 400 bed tertiary hospital under the current redevelopment plans, with the existing north block retained and a new west wing built with a 200 bed capacity.

Universities including Curtin University and the University of Western Australia could also relocate some of their nurses and doctors training facilities on the RPH site, he said.

Dr Hames said the Government was fulfilling its election promise to legislate to protect RPH, with the bill to be introduced into the first session of parliament.

“Any future government who wants to take away having Royal Perth as a tertiary hospital will firstly have to put it through both houses of parliament,” he said.

The number of beds at the RPH Wellington Street Campus, including specialty beds, is 579.

Specialty beds include those in the intensive care unit, burns unit and the bone marrow transplant unit.

PERTH
KATE TARALA

[Bump]

I don't know why, but I'm always a bit pessimistic when they combine hospitals, schools, etc... I mean, yeah they might not be the best economically or even in serviceability, but the surrounding area has grown up with that school/hospital always there. The community has come to rely on it. Especially when we will eventually need more hospitals/schools. Creating these super clinics is a good idea, they provide better services with a greater ability, but not at the expense of an existing piece of infrastructure. Super clinics lack that personal touch that a community is built on. If there is no local hospital then people need to travel to get to one, and staff need to commute to work at one.

Its the same as rail lines. Back in the day they were the beez neez, but then the car came along and they were seen as obsolete. Now, suddenly everyone loves train lines but it's difficult to build or upgrade them.

So now, instead of downgrading RPH, we are getting rid of Shenton Park.

[aaronaugi1]

I don't know why, but I'm always a bit pessimistic when they combine hospitals, schools, etc... I mean, yeah they might not be the best economically or even in serviceability, but the surrounding area has grown up with that school/hospital always there. The community has come to rely on it. Especially when we will eventually need more hospitals/schools. Creating these super clinics is a good idea, they provide better services with a greater ability, but not at the expense of an existing piece of infrastructure. Super clinics lack that personal touch that a community is built on. If there is no local hospital then people need to travel to get to one, and staff need to commute to work at one.

Its the same as rail lines. Back in the day they were the beez neez, but then the car came along and they were seen as obsolete. Now, suddenly everyone loves train lines but it's difficult to build or upgrade them.

So now, instead of downgrading RPH, we are getting rid of Shenton Park.

quite frankly, i dont see a school or hospital (especially in the western suburbs) as something that binds a community. Maybe in small, country locations, but not the inner city.

[Bump]

Fair enough. I don't know anything about social or urban planning so my comment doesn't really have any authority, just something I was thinking about.

[acc521]

They bind the community of people within the institution rather than the community in a geographical sense.

[gotime]

i actually think this is one of the few positive outcomes of the liberal's election.

as much as the relocation of RPH might make economic/practical sense now. history tells us that scraping major pieces of infrastructure often comes back to bite us later. a growing city with a growing inner city population, and an inevitable increase in density in near city areas will no doubt regret the loss of a hospital. in my opinion, downgrading RPH and incorporating smaller surrounding medical facilities is the way to go. it just leaves us with many more options in the future, when inner city land will not be so readily available.

also anything that moves tertiary education facilities into the city is a bonus for me

[Swan]

the $20billion infrastructure fund for all of australia is not really going to make much difference to us all. these days $20bn doesnt go very far.

the only benefit will be upgrading the broadband network but then we will all be paying for it through higher broadband charges due to lacik of competition for years to come.

[aaronaugi1]

i actually think this is one of the few positive outcomes of the liberal's election.

as much as the relocation of RPH might make economic/practical sense now. history tells us that scraping major pieces of infrastructure often comes back to bite us later. a growing city with a growing inner city population, and an inevitable increase in density in near city areas will no doubt regret the loss of a hospital. in my opinion, downgrading RPH and incorporating smaller surrounding medical facilities is the way to go. it just leaves us with many more options in the future, when inner city land will not be so readily available.

also anything that moves tertiary education facilities into the city is a bonus for me

you're probably right. I believe those who wanted the hospital removed (me included) based there belief on the quality of the facility. Its shit. If Barnett agreed to completely rebuild the place rather than just "save it" i'm sure he would have got more support on the issue. I'm all for a hospital in or close to the CBD....just not one at the hunk of junk level.

[samboy]

Scaffidi has also been pushing for RPH to stay as it brings thousands into the city

[Bonga]

I don't think RPH was ever intended to be closed altogether? Just scaled down significantly, while retaining some newer specialised elements such as the burns unit?

[James]

Royal Perth was never going to be scrapped - downsized yes, but never scrapped.

The proposal was that the North Block?, and the newer stuff (post 1970) would all be kept, and would be a functioning hospital, whilst the old stuff, like the South Block would be demolished.

Royal Perth's old areas are old, and if they were kept, fighting drug resistant bacteria, would become increasingly hard, (as the age of the building works against cleanliness and the costs repairing, rehabilitation, or rebuilding, was less than building the new hospital at Murdoch.

[docker]

http://img184.imageshack.us/img184/3369/image002xm8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[Dilaz89]

Lisa wants to get rid off the oldest part of RPH. I really don't think the CBD needs a large hospital so close the business district. QE2 is more than ample and is only a few k's from the city.

[Auxodium]

http://img184.imageshack.us/img184/3369/image002xm8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

shame.... Australia is clearly 20 years behind the world... i mean i laughed when the ads herald TIVO as the best thing ever! :lol:

[samboy]

yeah but did you know that the US don't have digital TV yet? I was watching something the other day where they said WHEN digital transmission starts in the US they'll have a lot of old TVs to scrap

[acc521]

^^Wrong. US started HD broadcasts a fair while back now.

Perhaps it's the free to air networks but in the US practically everyone has cable. I.e. all the new shows are on cable first, and free to air a few years later. Completely different to the way it works here.

[JWPJ]

yeah but did you know that the US don't have digital TV yet? I was watching something the other day where they said WHEN digital transmission starts in the US they'll have a lot of old TVs to scrap
Huh? Their analogue signals are being switched off in 2009... at least 4-5 years before ours will be.

[Citystyle]

“Any future government who wants to take away having Royal Perth as a tertiary hospital will firstly have to put it through both houses of parliament,” EPIX failure.

Training of nurses and doctors should be localized. Why do these snobs not understand this. The whole of the Save RPH has built on lies.

[samboy]

ah ok fair enough. I didn't realise that's what they were referring to ... only caught the end of it.

[acc521]

^^Taking a leaf out of Colin's book ;)

[docker]

http://www.news.com.au/perthnow/story/0,21598,24552124-948,00.html

Plan to cut hospital wait
Anthony Deceglie, health reporter

October 25, 2008 05:00pm

PATIENTS would not wait longer than four hours in any WA emergency department under a radical plan being considered by the State Government.
Under the scheme, if a patient has to wait four hours they will be transferred immediately into a hospital ward. It would then be up to the ward staff to look after the patient.

The policy is used in all British emergency departments.

The Sunday Times can reveal that Health Minister Kim Hames will make a decision on the "four-hour rule'' at the end of a fact-finding trip to Britain in mid-November.

A recent report by the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine revealed that nearly half of all emergency patients in WA waited longer than eight hours for a bed.

Yesterday Dr Hames said it was time to introduce a program to radically reform the way emergency demand was managed in WA.

"We are extremely concerned about the long wait times in our EDs, especially the access block, which is the worst in Australia,'' he said.

"We need to try and think laterally and look at alternatives that work and see if they have got any way that they're applicable for us here in WA.''

The Labor Party revealed it had planned to introduce the "four-hour rule'', but was kicked out of government.

Dr Hames said there were some concerns that the "four-hour rule'' moved overcrowding problems from emergency departments to other areas of hospitals.

"It (would involve) everybody working as a team to make this happen,'' he said. "But there are some sceptical people around who think it just hides the problem.''

The state's new Health Department boss, Peter Flett, said that British emergency departments were ahead of the world in tackling overcrowding.

"We can learn something from the way they manage the load at their front door,'' Dr Flett said.

"They have shortened the time in which patients wait to be seen in emergency departments and they have fundamentally changed the flow of emergency patients through the hospital themselves, ensuring early and timely discharge of patients.''

Dr Hames said a final decision on the "four-hour rule'' would be his responsibility.

He will be joined on his trip by his principal policy officer and will be away from November 15-22.

A group of seven delegates from the Health Department will also tour Britain from November 16-26.

These delegates include Australian Medical Association state president Gary Geelhoed and Health Department executive director Robyn Lawrence.

Facilities that will be looked at by the minister and the delegates include St Mary's Hospital in London and the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh in Scotland.

Opposition health spokesman Roger Cook called Dr Hames' trip an overseas junket that, combined with the Health Department tour, would cost WA taxpayers more than $100,000.

Mr Cook said Dr Hames should be focusing on the urgent problems at home, including finding funding for a new children's hospital.

[TRS-80]

No, the four hour rule is just stupid. I read some UK health blogs, and it has just resulted in dodges to get around it. The UK has some weird obsession with targets in health and policing, and they cause effort to be wasted meeting these targets instead of running a quality service.

[Auxodium]

Huh? Their analogue signals are being switched off in 2009... at least 4-5 years before ours will be.

oh Australian technology.... why are we always 5-20 years behind the world...

[acc521]

Yep. I was watching CSI Miami (CBS rip) the other night and the memo saying Sun 22 Feb (I think) for switchover popped up at the beginning.

[chrisaus]

Ten's tilt at 24-hour sports channel

A 24-hour sports channel to be launched next year on free-to-air television will revolutionise the Australian broadcasting landscape.

The Ten Network is set to next month lay down the gauntlet to Fox Sports and its free-to-air rivals when it unveils that its high-definition channel will televise Australian and international sport 24 hours a day.

While Ten executives remained tight-lipped last night, it is believed their subtle but systematic campaign of buying major sporting events continued last week in Monaco at Sportel - the international trade show of sporting rights.

Not only has Ten just outbid Nine to win the television rights to Australian swimming, but among the network's new trump cards are the US NBA basketball, the US Major League baseball. Ten also holds the rights to the US Open golf and tennis championships and the US Masters golf.

Ten also recently spent a reported $10-15 million buying the rights to India's IPL Twenty20 cricket for five years..

The 2009 AFL grand final will also be simulcast on Ten's HD channel, and Ten will extend its AFL coverage to include a Monday night review program to be hosted by Stephen Quartermain.

The program will feature football expert Robert Walls, who has quit the award-winning Fox Sports program On The Couch after seven years to help spearhead the new channel's football coverage.

The network has also bought the rights to the Trans-Tasman Netball League, with former AFL star Luke Darcy to host its netball coverage. Darcy will also have an expanded football role.

Although Ten has been devising its high-definition sporting strategy for at least 12 months, it has refused to divulge the extent of its sporting assault.

In a further blow to pay television, the free-to-air body Free TV is scheduled to later this week announce "Free View", a free-to-air electronic program guide showing all schedules on all five channels, including high-definition, in the manner of the Foxtel guide, which operates from a set-top box for pay TV subscribers

urrently, the HD channels, with the exception of Channel Two, predominantly mirror what is being shown on the main channels but with superior picture quality.

An estimated 15% of Australian televisions can show HD. Most new televisions come with HD capacity, while set-top boxes can be purchased to convert other televisions.

Ten's coup has been the brainchild of its national sport supremo David White, who first master-minded the break-up of the AFL TV broadcast rights for the 2002-2006 period, and will see his network show eight of ten AFL grand finals over the decade ending in 2011.

White, who returned from his network's buying trip in Europe over the weekend, refused to comment last night.

The new channel is expected to start early in 2009, with a launch expected in mid-November.

Ten also owns the rights to Formula One Grand Prix events, the Nascar series including the Daytona 500, and has been televising the World Golf Championship events.

http://www.watoday.com.au/sport/tens-tilt-at-24hour-sports-channel-20081028-59ye.html?page=2

[samboy]

I'm no expert in this field but I think it's a great idea and will do very well.

[Ari Gold]

Basically Ten Sports Channel will basically end up a little like ESPN.

They basically have all the american sports now (they do have the nfl already) so its no surprise.




The market for fans in Australia who love American sports is massive. Only reason why alot of people have Foxtel.

[aaronaugi1]

Basically Ten Sports Channel will basically end up a little like ESPN.

They basically have all the american sports now (they do have the nfl already) so its no surprise.




The market for fans in Australia who love American sports is massive. Only reason why alot of people have Foxtel.

Yeah. I've always lived in the belief that if you don't like Australian sport or European football, you love American sport. Rarely do i come accross someone who likes no sport at all.

Theres basically a whole untapped market when it comes to free to air American sport.

I still don't understand why the A-League doesn't go free-to-air. Obviously there is financially reasons behind major channels not taking up Australian soccer on their channels and the FFA need for Foxtels money, but shit, it would generate so much more attention for the competition then what FoxSport does.

[chrisaus]

Should be a good inititive the speed up the transition to digital TV, esp. with the end date of analogue being announced. I have had a Digital HDTV for several months and they are certainly becoming more affordable and slowly offering a good product plus the picture is fantastic.

[crazyknightsfan]

I still don't understand why the A-League doesn't go free-to-air. Obviously there is financially reasons behind major channels not taking up Australian soccer on their channels and the FFA need for Foxtels money, but shit, it would generate so much more attention for the competition then what FoxSport does.

The contract with Foxtel runs until 2013.

At the time it was signed (2005) Foxtel offered the best option for FFA (read: most money) and FTA hadn't exactly done alot for the sport in the past. Channel 7 contributed to the death of the NSL by buying the TV rights but then not showing games or massively delaying them, as well as not actively promoting interest in the sport like Fox does with its magazine shows and news coverage.

I'm undecided on whether it should go FTA come 2013. If 10's sports channel is the start of the end of Foxtel then things will be markedly different in 2013.

The good news is that Socceroos matches have been taken off the anti-siphoning list. But if FTA litter it with ads and pla it delayed (anyone remember the Olympics, or look at Channel Nein with the Rugby League World Cup) I will be fuming.

[Perth4life]

Robert walls may be an expert, but he's still a dickhead.

[WAuzzie]

i dont like it. i want ten hd to show other things then sports. i like normal ch 10 but watch it in hd whenever possible.

[crazyknightsfan]

Robert walls may be an expert, but he's still a dickhead.

That was random

[Bump]

I agree Perth4life

[Auxodium]

Basically Ten Sports Channel will basically end up a little like ESPN.

They basically have all the american sports now (they do have the nfl already) so its no surprise.




The market for fans in Australia who love American sports is massive. Only reason why alot of people have Foxtel.

i would expect it to go the way of C7... die or get into an alliance with Foxtel... Ten will make money that way ;)

Robert walls may be an expert, but he's still a dickhead.

no...robert walls is the biggest tool in the afl world he just loves to hear his own voice and just plain old annoying...shit coach... shit commentator...

[jackso]

i dont like it. i want ten hd to show other things then sports. i like normal ch 10 but watch it in hd whenever possible.


I think the article is a little misleading. They will use a sepertate channel all together. So they will have a sport channel and an HD chanel. At least thats what I took from another article I read.
They are not stupid enough to not have an HD chanel available for their Prime Time programing.

Also ABC is start a Kids channel called ABC3 which will be good as it will free up ABC1 and ABC2 for regular programing during the day. I think they still need to secure funding though.

Channel 10 have been leading the transition to digital TV the whole time pretty much. They were the first to begin different programming on the HD channels. I think the law allowing them to have more than one channel was only passed last year...

[aaronaugi1]

i dont like it. i want ten hd to show other things then sports. i like normal ch 10 but watch it in hd whenever possible.

1 channel out of half a dozen i believe is reasonable given the great marketing power sport has. Like it or not, its not like its taking over television.

Hopefully the format is profitable so 10 can inject some of the fund back into its regular screenings.

[acc521]

Goran, the FTA channels are going to be allowed to multi broadcast so this will be in addition to the normal Ten HD.

[WAuzzie]

as long as they dont kill of normal hd ten im happy :)

[jackso]

I rekon. I would suck if i didnt get to see megastructures in the afternoons anymore.

In case anyone didnt know channel 10 already broadcast American NFL all day monday and tuesday on Ten HD.

[Ipggi]

In the UK they have 48 digital free to air channels with Freeview. It is the same system 9 & 10 were trying to bring here, except without all the channels, thanks to federal government protectionist regulation (what a surprise hey?)

http://www.freeview.co.uk/freeview/Channels

[chrisaus]

ABC are planning on having 4 chanels shortly, bet yes most depends on the feds getting their act together and keeping up with technology and changing the media laws

[jackso]

I want a free to air music video channel. And a 24-7 news and weather channel.

Edit: it seems ABC are gettign their act togeher and are probably the most progressive TV channel in the country at the moment. Thye are planning an expansion to 4 channels and they have iView. I
think they are starting a breakfast show to compete with sunrise and today on ABC2 this coming Monday.

[acc521]

Re free to air music channel would be good if it actually played music. I'm so sick of V and Max. Half the time it's just presenters and shitty shows.

[hack404]

Goran, the FTA channels are going to be allowed to multi broadcast so this will be in addition to the normal Ten HD.

They already are allowed to do this now with their HD channels. What will change from next year is that they will able to multi-channel SD as well.

[jackso]

Re free to air music channel would be good if it actually played music. I'm so sick of V and Max. Half the time it's just presenters and shitty shows.


It wouldnt even really need presenters at all. It could just be like an extended rage with aspects of video hits.

[chrisaus]

I want a free to air music video channel. And a 24-7 news and weather channel.

Edit: it seems ABC are gettign their act togeher and are probably the most progressive TV channel in the country at the moment. Thye are planning an expansion to 4 channels and they have iView. I
think they are starting a breakfast show to compete with sunrise and today on ABC2 this coming Monday.

great, sunrise and today show suck, i think we can expect ABC to deliver with a more profesional business like morning show.

[hack404]

great, sunrise and today show suck, i think we can expect ABC to deliver with a more profesional business like morning show.

Hosted by Barrie Cassidy and Virginia Trioli. Hopefully the big issues get covered...

http://www.theage.com.au/news/entertainment/tv--radio/first-bite-in-24hour-news-feast/2008/10/21/1224351256413.html

[chrisaus]

Is it worth switching to HDTV?

That is the question that’s been facing Australian consumers since the Seven Network stole a march on its competitors by launching Australia’s first high-definition (HD) multi-channel in October last year.

TEN-HD swiftly followed in December, boasting the ubiquitous catch cry, "The world is amazing in HD.”

But while that may be the case, the majority of Australians won’t experience it, with recent figures suggesting just over 30 per cent of Australian homes have a HDTV set.
What you're missing

HD works by using more pixels to deliver a higher quality picture than standard-definition (SD) television. It means sharper images, finer details and more colours.

But to enjoy the full visual benefits of HD (around three times better picture quality than DVD), you’ll need an LCD or plasma television with a native resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels.

Translated, it means you’ll be forking out a lot of money – anywhere from about $1300 for a 32” Samsung LCD TV to nearly $5000 for a 60” LG plasma. Not to mention, a surround-sound system that allows you to experience HD’s high quality audio.

"It’s better quality picture, better quality audio and, at the moment with around four extra hours a night, more choice,” Nine Network digital television director of acquisitions Les Sampson told News.com.au.

Mr Sampson said the Nine Network currently broadcasts "24 hours a day” on its HD channel, which launched with little fanfare in March.

"HD is an important part of what our service is, because it offers more choice, so the date we launched is irrelevant. We wanted to get out there and show our HD opportunities and content.

"If you turn on the HD channel right now, the entire channel is in HD,” he said.

What about those old Seinfeld re-runs?

"We up-convert so everything can be run in HD”, including new shows not shot in the HD format, Mr Sampson said.

"As we progress further down the track, we’ll be shooting more shows in HD, but up-converting helps us get around it.”
Extra content

In addition to their ordinary programming, the major networks offer several hours of "unique content” daily on their HD channels, including documentaries, movies and mini-series.

The hours of daily extra content vary across the networks – from about four hours on Nine to up to 10 hours on Ten and Seven.

On TEN-HD, for example, you can watch an episode of BBC sci-fi series Torchwood while the rest of Australia watches the news on Ten’s SD channel.

To access the additional content, you don’t need a top-of-the-line TV. A high-definition set-top box plugged into your existing system will do.

"You can still watch it (the HD channel) on a black-and-white TV if you wanted to, but it’s not going to give you the full pleasure of what HD is all about,” Mr Sampson said, adding that without a compatible TV set viewers won’t be able to enjoy the "true, perfect-quality picture” that HD affords.

Ironically, Mr Sampson expects the demand for HD to rise as times get tougher.

"If you talk to retailers, they’ll let you know how important HD is at the moment. Everyone is buying HD sets, they’re not buying old sets now,” he says.

"Economically when times get a bit tough, people stay at home and watch more TV, so now’s the perfect time for us to supply that extra choice.”

http://www.news.com.au/technology/story/0,25642,24540169-5014239,00.html

[perthgazer]

I watch a lot of free to air TV shows in digital or HD, cos foxtel quality is crap.

The difference is definetely noticable, but I wish foxtel didnt charge more than they already do for what shoud be basic content.

[chrisaus]

the prices of plasmas and lcd's are quite reasonable now too.

[acc521]

Such a scam that they even call it "Foxtel Digital" when the only thing digital about it is the audio. Such a ripoff to get Foxtel HD.

[chrisaus]

I cant justify spending the extra money on foxtel, i spend enough time infront of the box! I would love a 24 hour 7 day news chanel though on HDTV

[perthgazer]

if u get foxtel you will become addicted to fox news

you know its feeding you blatant partisan right wing bullcrap but-you-just-cant-stop

[chrisaus]

i watch skynews abit on virgin blue and when interstate, but i seems to just repete the same news over and over, i would expect ABC to have a good news chanel because they seem to go abit more in depth and have interesting interviews

[acc521]

So true Sean. Fox News cosntantly suspends my disbelief. I'm amazed that so many in America use it as their primary source of "factual" information.

Chrisaus: CNN and BBC are the best 2 on Foxtel for real news. Sky annoys me. Very 6:00 newsish.

[chrisaus]

americals today show is jsut as annoying if not more than the aussie one

[chrisaus]

the new tivo thing sound pretty useless to me

[aaronaugi1]

if u get foxtel you will become addicted to fox news

you know its feeding you blatant partisan right wing bullcrap but-you-just-cant-stop

here here! question time weekdays, midday, rules my days off!

[jackso]

I think ABC is actually aiming to head toward a 24-7 news channel. There was an article from one of the ppers websites saying that their morning show which is 4 hours is the first small step.

[Scraperfan]

chris, tivo is pretty good. you can tell it to record say anything that has julia roberts in it and it will automatcially record for you, or you can say, record at the movies on abc every wednesday.

its really popular where its been established, i expect australia to be the same, i might get one next year as i hate half the shit on tv, but there so many quality programs on sbs and abc that i miss due to working late.

[acc521]

Problem is TIVO doesn't work with Foxtel and Foxtel IQ doesn't work with commercial stations. I hate how with formats and technology we still get these stupid incompatabilities because the various companies can't see past their own greed.

[Scraperfan]

with tivo and improved hd channels i have no need for foxtel, had it for 2 years and it just gave me a headache with all the e-news celebrity rubbish and filled my head with un-necessary junk.

renting dvds is so much better. $6 for 6 weeklys. lovely.

[acc521]

Meh - I just DL anything I want to watch now. HD rips hours after they've aired in the US/UK. I've given up on commercial TV and their delaying shows for months, ad breaks etc. Foxtel is kept purely for the sport. Of course I watch other things every now and then but if it wasn't for the sports I wouldn't bother with it.

[docker]

http://img399.imageshack.us/img399/6924/image002fa6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img395.imageshack.us/img395/2083/image003dz0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[Bullswool]

Gosh, are they going to complete ANY of their promises? Every promise they have made seems to be going bad. I hope this teaches a lesson to the voters.. don't be so stupid. But everyone will forget about all this by next election...

[JWPJ]

On the ABC, they have a plan for 2020 to have six digital channels.

ABC1 - comprehensive, with broad appeal, and 80% Australian content;

ABC2 – fostering new talent, formats, programming and with at least 50% Australian content. A focus on factual, comedy, arts and entertainment;

ABC3 – dedicated non-commercial Children's Channel, with at least 50% Australian content across all genres, including drama, animation and education;

ABC4 – News and public information including live feeds of major events, press conferences and Parliament, building on the ABC's extensive national and international news gathering resources.

ABC5 – Education Channel providing English and foreign language tuition, curriculum material and an integral digital resource for a newly developed national schools curriculum. At least 50% Australian content to meet teachers and students needs.

ABC6 – Best of overseas content, including BBC material.

http://www.abc.net.au/corp/pubs/documents/2020_ABC_in_the_Digital_Age.pdf

Whether or not this is achievable remains to be seen.

[jackso]

Well im pretty sure that ABC and SBS will recieve their funding increase for 2009-2012 as Conroy and Rudd have both hinted that they will revieve it, however i dont think we will find out until march.
If they do, that will most likely secure ABC3 for the kids chanel which i think they said they hoped the have running by end of 2009 or something.
Television will be changing for the better in the next few years i think.

[aaronaugi1]

I really believe ABC should look into introducing advertising of sorts on their stations. EVen if it was only 2 or 3 ads between programmes. Just to boost the budget. What they produce is great, but it would the quality of Australian tv a hell of a lot.