ACA makes things hot for Cool Country

In the face of threatened legal action from the Australian
Communications Authority (ACA) Western Sydney’s Cool Country
narrowcaster on FM 88.0 and 88.7 recently told listeners that it may close down.

The announcement has sent country music fans “into a frenzy of intense activity” in support of the station.

Narrowcaster Cool Country has been providing Sydney’s West and the Blue Mountains with 24 hours a day Country music for nearly 7 years.

Cool Country’s Managing Director Mike Bedford told radioinfo: “Our team has
been absolutely blown away by the response from our listeners. We’re
worn out, we have taken over 6000 phone calls so far, but very excited
that so many of our listeners have responded.

“It is abundantly clear
that Australians are sick of the Bureaucrats. We are certainly the
underdogs here.”

Cool Country has set up a special protest line on (02 9623 4567) where listeners can ring and record their own comments about
Cool Country and its fight with the ACA. The calls will
be put on CD and a copy supplied to all Local Federal Members,
The Minister of Communications, The NSW Premier, The Chairmen of the
ACA and the ABA, the media.

“That way they can hear first hand what the people of Sydney’s West are
saying about Cool Country Radio, they can hear the emotion in their
voices with their own ears,”
says Bedford.

“[We have] had calls from all over Australia supporting us and expressing
their anger at the Australian Communications Authority (ACA), and over
6000 thousand calling for ‘Protest Packs’ so they can send letters to
the ACA, the ABA Local Federal Members, the NSW Premier and the
Minister for Communications.”

The station says the ACA caused the problem which could now put them off air, “due to their error back in 1997.” Bedford says the ACA “gave an undertaking to
resolve any interference issues after we were forced to change
frequency due their blunder. We have been asking them to solve the
matter ever since.”

He says the ACA has “consistently refused or ignored our
requests to do something about the matter until Jackie Kelly and Kerry
Bartlett had the ACA attend a meeting in Parliament House to explain
themselves.”

Correspondence to the station from the former Minister of Communications Richard Alston says the ACA and the ABA are “concerned
about setting a precedent.”

Bedford says: “This has turned into a very vindictive action
against the Licencees… we believe it’s because we have embarrassed the
ACA in the face of the former Minister of Communications, due their
lack of procedure, standards and fair treatment, not only to us but
also other Licencees Australia wide.”

Federal Member for Macquarie, Kerry Bartlett and the Federal Member
for Lindsay, Jackie Kelly have both expressed “outrage” at the ACA’s
proposed action. Bartlett says the ACA is taking a “punitive approach” with its threat to close down the station, while Jackie Kelly says: “The ACA needs to radically change its attitude to
narrowcast radio or we will both be calling for
it to be abolished and a new organization established that is
interested in community needs.”

The Australian Country Music Industry is swinging its weight behind
Cool Country Radio in an attempt to prevent the station’s closure, supporting the call to keep the station
on the air because of its high content of Australian Country Music.

President of the Country Music Association of Australia John Williamson said: “It’s unfortunate one of our members, and
especially one providing such an important service, appears to be
facing major technical problems which they believe to be not of their
making and which could threaten the viability of their operation. We
would encourage all parties in this situation to sit down and work the
problems out to the benefit of all and especially to the benefit of
the listening public. It would be a great shame if we were to lose
such a significant outlet for Australian country music in the Sydney
area.”

Western Sydney Country Music entertainer Dwayne Elix, on behalf of Cool
Country FM, organised benefit concert in November to
raise funds to assist with the station’s legal expenses and listeners are contributing to a “fighting fund.”

Mike Bedford is “overwhelmed by the huge response
from the listeners.” Any funds not used in the legal battle will be donated to Westmead Children’s Hospital.

For audio of listener protests click below.