Australia to consider fee-free amateur licensing

They want our hf bands for JORN othr.....just a sneaky way to stop us complaining....vk2uxo.

 

I like getting things for free but as we always say there has to be a catch. This appears to be a way for the ACMA to back away from all the problems amateur radio seems to have in modern society.
I have been a ham for a little while so in my time I have had a few meetings and problems running my station with the regulator so I'll show you how good the present license arrangements are.
I have found in the last few years it's very hard to get a straight answer on certain subjects and the thing every ham once adhered to called the LCD has very little value now as people like to twist it's wording around to suit their own needs.
If there had been this new offering by the ACMA back in the mid 80's a small group of operators in a little town called Pingelly would have been put off air permanently.
The township complained of TV interference and radio inspectors were sent. On seeing the interference some of us were causing we were shut down. After studies of the problem it was traced to TV boosters and also that TV stations were to far out of the reception areas.
We were once again allowed to operate but members of Parliament intervened. We attended this meeting but was told our stations would be closed. We were shut down again.
Then came the relief. The regulators put their foot down on the whole subject and made it very clear we had the right to use our stations as we had been doing prior to all the complaints.
Thank goodness I had been paying a licence fee and was governed by laws that protected my station or other laws that punished me for errors or illegal activity I might have caused.
I think we continue paying just to keep people taking from us what is left of amateur radio.
Cheers keep safe
Lindsay VK6NO

 

in china is free

 

My question is how many U.S. hams will relocate to Australia to "save" $35?

You know darn well someone is out there checking the expiration date of their passport right this minute.

 

I suspect that the drive within government to reduce costs will most likely win out - afterall that is what ACMA has publically stated and also what friends of mine within ACMA are saying. They regard amateurs as more of a nuisance and point out that every time government has tried to move responsibility for self-management back to amateurs (here in VK), it has ended with groups of sad, squabbling, stupid old men. Just recall the events surrounding the Syllabus Review Panel. It's no wonder Examinations are now in the hands of the AMC. Make no mistake, ACMA are calling for commenmts solely because they have to. They will proceed along whatever lines are best for them unless there is a coordinated, sensible response from the amateur community - good luck with that!

 

If amateurs only had behaved as expected from the elite we are intended to be, this would not have happened. Civility, tact and respect together with well-thought out arguments are of utmost importance when dealing with regulators, which too many now have learned the hard way.

73/
Karl-Arne
SM0AOM

 

right track DO it make it free as the air waves should not be owned by any government nor service.... should only be monitored by officials to watch guild lines.. for amatuers and radio stations of all types. means more jobs for each state to open up but no govenment control.

 

Everyone who cedes funds to commissions has forgotten that in the USA at least the airwaves are considered a natural resource -- like rain -- not owned by any government. Once fees are assessed they somehow become sacred and never ending. Our government has sold the UHF bands to cellular/wideband for over $70B [latest episode] and has the gall to come after individuals for annual fees.
Good practice is to see the whole picture and follow the money trail. And have a full bottle of Pepto handy.

 

They did a similar thing in Canada many years ago. Ask older Canadian Hams how that affected their rights and spectrum support. It destroyed it. We are no longer a protected “licensed station” but now simply “permitted users”. We have NO support from our Government RF agency , especially for RFI mitigation. In fact, Canada now refuses to do ANY spectrum policing unless it affects an emergency or airband service. We are told we as the permitted users, we are to police ourself and our use of the bands. That means basically bringing a legal challenge to the court ourselves and on our own dime and time. I would gladly pay $100. per year for my “LICENCE” if it meant getting support and maintaining our Radio Act rights as Licensed Service , rather than simply a “permitted users” of the spectrum. I am all for LESS Government and Bureaucracy, but there IS a place for balance, dedicated funding and regulation. Unfortunately today it is either growing totalitarian government/corporate monopoly control, or total abandonment and anarchy...seems there is no more common sense “middle road”...especially for the basic, tax paying citizen. Destroy our spectrum and it will lead to its eventual sell-off to the highest bidder for another future encrypted, “pay to use” service. And perhaps that’s the whole idea.

 

In the UK, the licence became free very many years ago.

BUT! Beware! As in the Canadian case given above, with zero fees for the licence comes a reduction in the level of service and support that will subsequently be provided by the regulator. In the UK, many people would say that the regulator, in respect of amateur services, has become little more than an automated web-form serving organisation. Instead, its energy goes into selling microwave spectrum, where the big money is.

So it becomes a 'you get what you pay for' situation. The trap is in not paying anything...

 

As I mentioned in my first comment there are many things to consider with this proposal.

Anyone can remember here in Australia what happened years ago when the government stopped policing CB radio. It was total and utter anarchy.

Even now under the present arrangements for ham radio very little is enforced and any things brought to the regulators attention takes forever to resolve. The LCD is studied by hams today looking for loop holes around the stated articles just so they can do this or that.

When we all got our licenses this piece of paper and the Australian communications act is what we all signed up to as the law governing ALL operators,

Not picking on anyone but our two big groups that have total interest in amateur radio is unable to get together and discuss these things properly.

If someone asked me today who could regulate users on air etc I would require a long time just to find someone with the time and money to do a job like this.

Back when I was licensed we were governed by the ACT, the radio inspectors and also self regulatory hams. We had a great system that protected us from many complaints etc.

This proposal is just a document for the government to wash their hands of the entire amateur population as they can’t answer our queries or they don’t earn enough to justify having us.

Cheers Lindsay VK6NO

 

Here in ZL it's been free for a long time, none of the problems discussed have shown up in this country, mind you 'Chicken Little' would probably have something to say about this!

 

You just got me good Rex ZL4IV I just jumped up to kill the bug on my monitor and have only just stopped laughing. I really needed a good laugh and I love your bug. Cheers

 

Its not free. you get nothing for nothing. No support for RFI, No support when accused of RFI, No guidance, Less bands, etc etc. Do not allow it, pay more if you have to or are able to. Acceptance in the UK was dire.
Derek

 

I agree 100% !! It was a bad day here in the UK when we went to free licences.