A court case instigated by the ACA against Sydney narrowcaster, Cool Country FM, has been postponed because of ill health by the licencee.

Narrowcast country music station, Cool Country FM in Sydney’s western suburbs, has been battling the ACA for some time over licence issues. The ACA says the station has breached its licence conditions and has summonsed Cool Country’s Mike Bedford to appear before the Federal Magistrates Court over the matter.

The hearing was scheduled for this month but has been postponed until June because of Bedford’s ill health.

Narrowcast sources have told radioinfo the case “will put a cat amongst the pigeons of the open narrowcast world”, with implications for other narrowcast licences around the country.

Mike Bedford has been conducting a campaign against the ACA and is on record saying:

“Despite over 10 000 letters, 3000 recorded protest phone calls and thousands of emails to the Minister of Communications, 22 Federal members of Parliament, the Chairman of the ACA and the ABA from Cool Country listeners and the country music industry, objecting to the actions of the ACA, the ACA has proceeded with its prosecution of the licencees of Cool Country by way of
a summons.

“Not only is the ACA taking action against the company that holds the licences, but it also taking legal action against me personally. The action against our company licences places the ACA in direct contradiction to the very
objects of the Radio Communication ACT 1992.”