Page 3777 - Week 13 - Wednesday, 16 October 1991
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would certainly detract from it. As I said, although I have not discussed it with Mr Jensen - I have not had the opportunity to do so - on the face of it, I could not support his amendment in its present form.
MR SPEAKER: Do we have that amendment in writing?
Mr Jensen: I will give it to you. It is actually not - - -
MR SPEAKER: I need to see the amendment. It may be in a form such that it blocks any new amendment. So, I have to get a copy of this amendment.
MR HUMPHRIES (10.47): I am not sure what the thrust of the amendment is.
Mrs Grassby: I think you had better find out first, before you speak.
MR HUMPHRIES: I do not intend to comment on the amendment; I am going to leave that to others. I will say, however, that I am broadly in agreement with the terms of the motion put
forward by Mrs Grassby. I imagine that most of us are. It constitutes a welcome comment, in the circumstances, on the need for diversity of cultural inputs of the kind that one gets with radio.
I might mention, though, something which I do not believe has been said elsewhere in this debate, and that is that the reasons for the desire by groups such as the Ethnic Communities Council for a separate ACT ethnic broadcasting capacity - that is, separate from its present home at Radio 2XX - have a lot to do with politics. I have spoken to a number of people on this subject and the point often put to me by members of ethnic communities who would like a capacity separate from 2XX is that the complications that arise from having ethnic broadcasting from 2XX are great. In particular, there are, frankly, conflicts between the political positions and preferences of many of those groups that broadcast ethnic programs from 2XX and the management of 2XX itself.
That is not to say that I am opposed to either 2XX or ethnic broadcasters having their say, in appropriate circumstances; that is a much broader debate than is being held here today. But it is clear that part of the reason that we are today seeing concern about this and a desire for a separate ethnic broadcaster is that many ethnic organisations are unhappy with the political standpoint that 2XX quite naturally takes. It may well be that the separation of those two functions is a desirable thing from a number of points of view.
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