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The case for recognizing Amateur Radio as a National Resource. It must be understood and accepted that Australia, because of its large geographic location, area and vast natural resources, is strategically important but it is also vulnerable to natural and manmade disasters. Any major natural or manmade catastrophe, even with origins many thousands of miles away, could have a devastating impact on Australia and its people. Australia is an island continent and has a coast line of close to 26,000 km (16,100 miles). The continent comprises nearly 7.7 million square kilometers or about 3 million square miles. That’s almost as large as the total land area of the 50 contiguous states in the US. However, only a relatively small land area is suitable for agriculture and animal husbandry. The country has a fairly low average annual rainfall and therefore has few major rivers. Apart from huge inhospitable deserts there are few other internal defensive natural barriers. Australia is geographically isolated from the countries with which it has historic alliances. The capitals of Canada, the UK and the USA are all about 10,000 miles away. The country has a population of only about 20 million people and the vast majority of these are located in just a few major urban population centers along the southeast coastal corridor. Australia’s defense force is estimated at just over 50,000. That’s about two soldiers for every km of coastline or one for every 145 square kilometers. Australia has been called the “Lucky Country.” However, that was in the days before globalization, before the ongoing re-alignment of a new world order and the intensified demand for natural resources by the huge emerging economies of China and India. Fossil fuel, particularly oil (with its concentration in the Middle East) remains a hotly contested resource. Australia doesn’t have enough to be self-reliant. These changes are bringing new challenges for Australia. It’s therefore timely and prudent to assess what are the most serious natural and manmade risks that might be faced by Australia. In making this assessment, the question must be kept in mind whether Australia can afford the luxury of excluding any segment of its population from participating in organized public service. In the AussieWinlink context, this means the cadre of radio amateurs that can provide communication backup support during national and international disaster and emergency relief operations. Unfortunately, it has to be stated that official-Australia, as compared with a more security-conscious United States, appears to have done little up till quite recently to support the amateur radio community. In fact, it is understood that the first responders to disasters and emergencies, like the military forces; police; fire and ambulance services; and marine and land search and rescue organizations are actually quite skeptical about the need for Australian amateur radio participation. This skepticism is not totally misplaced. Even the long-established Australian amateur radio organization concerned with organizing such emergency radio communication backup, that is, the Wireless Institute Civil Emergency Network (WICEN), has made few if any inroads in promoting the role of amateur radio. Before briefly exposing the types and nature of emergencies that might be faced by Australia, it is appropriate to remind the reader of the recent disastrous official and commercial communication failures that have plagued many local and international disasters and emergency relief operations. A brief summary should suffice: (a) Terrorist attacks on 11 September 2002 on the New York World Trade Center and the Pentagon in the US; (b) Hurricanes that struck the Caribbean, Central America and the gulf coast states in the USA - notably the almost total destruction of New Orleans; (c) earthquakes in Pakistan and elsewhere; (d) the Tsunami disaster in South and Southeast Asia; and (e) the recent failure of a major commercial communications satellite over the Pacific. A word should also be said about the nature of amateur radio communications. These may in the form of: (1) voice communications, that is, the transmission of the spoken word. This, usually, is of greater importance and of a more immediate nature. This will continue to be best handled by the regular civil defense authorities; and (2) the transmission of text-based documents and graphics. The latter could include long lists of missing persons or ships (as during the Tsunami disaster) or drawings and prints of maps, and charts or photographs (for assistance in search and rescue operations). Radio Amateurs can operate small, often portable transceivers that can be kept on the air even when a national electricity grid goes down. There stations can be manned virtually around the clock. Those that are already familiar with the Winlink digital communications system know that there are now three such digital communication stations operational in Australia. They are located as far apart as Perth in the west and Sydney and Melbourne in the east. Another station is likely to be established in Tasmania. An additional station at the “top-end” of Australia is highly desirable. These stations provide communications linkage as part of a global digital communications network. They already have provided assistance in Australia and elsewhere in each of the natural en manmade disasters listed above. The US has welcomed and embraced the support by its radio amateurs. With official support, it is now in progress of building the most organized civil defense network in the world.
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