Re: (NSW) Scanner frequencies for rail

["Dave Proctor" <daproc@spambait.ozemail.com.au>]

"Michael Kurkowski" <mk@netstra.com.au> wrote in message
8F5D804EEtelstraNews@vic.news.telstra.net">news:8F5D804EEtelstraNews@vic.news.telstra.net...
> Sir Cumspect <aweenipNOawSPAM@hotmail.com.invalid> said:
>
> >YES my neighbour is a Crown sergeant.Police is a No No.
> >You may be correct about the others. He is checking!
> >But I will not be bothering to reply, as I will not lower myself
> >to respond again your sarcasm !
>
> "My neighbour is a cow farmer. He says you can't milk cows, so it's
> definately true, despite any act of law or annecdotal evidence that cows
> can't be milked".
>
> Your statement says nothing about the law. It provides a situation that
you
> have conversed with a 'crown sergeant' who says that you can't listen to
> police. Perhaps his personal opinion, backed up by his position within the
> organisation has something to say about your comment above?
>
> Once again, I ask you to point me to the relevant legislation stating that
> an individual, like you or myself can't lawfully listen to a police
> conversation by means of a scanner. For a start, try the
Telecommunications
> Act (not sure which year).

http://www.austlii.edu.au/ is where he will find the Act.

The Telecommunications (Interception) Act only applies to traffic over a
"telecommunications system" - the definition of a "telecommunications
system" is a bit convuluted, but it basically says it has to be a
"telecommunications network". The definition of a "telecommunications
network" is an easy one however:

""telecommunications network" means a system, or series of systems, for
carrying communications by means of guided or unguided electromagnetic
energy or both, but does not include a system, or series of systems, for
carrying communications solely by means of radiocommunication."

and specifically excludes radio traffic, so the Telecommunications
(Interception) Act 1991 is not (as far as I can see) relevant. The
Telecommunications Act 1997 itself is purely in rlation to mundane stuff
like licencing of TelCO's.

I have trawled through the Radiocommunications Act 1992 and about the only
thing that I can see that would be relevant is the licencing provisions
related to radio receivers. However, looking at the Radiocommunications
Regulations, reg.5 sort of excludes scanners:

http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_reg/rr327/s5.html

I doubt that his "Crown Sergeant" police frind (I presume he is referring to
a Senior Sergeant) would have given him the information anyway - I suspect
he made it up.

Dave