ABC Radio Australia, also known as Radio Australia, is the international broadcasting and online service operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), Australia's public broadcaster. Most programming is in English, with some in Tok Pisin. Radio Australia broadcasts on FM transmitters in seven countries across the Pacific Islands, to the Indo-Pacific region via satellite, and to the rest of world via online streaming. History Programme Delivery Short-wave services from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation were officially opened in a ceremony by Prime Minister of Australia Robert Menzies on 20 December 1939. One of the functions of Australian shortwave broadcasting was to counter propaganda by the Axis powers, particularly that of Japan. However, the ABC's transmitters were much weaker than the Japanese or German services. The transmitter of Amalgamated Wireless (Australasia) (AWA) near Sydney had 10 kilowatts (kW) of power, and stations VLR and VLW had 2 kW each. Radio Australia had a considerable range of broadcasts to the Asian region in the 1970s and 1980s, and was hugely popular in China, where the only alternative was the state media controlled by the Chinese Communist Party. During the first Gulf War in 1990/91 the Darwin station provided valuable information and support to expatriate Australians caught in Iraq, and others working in places like Saudi Arabia. In 1993, the ABC launched its international TV broadcasting, but Radio Australia's budget was cut significantly under the Howard government, causing the closure of its Cantonese, Thai and French services, as well as shutting down the short-wave transmitter to South-East and North-East Asia. This move was condemned by newspaper editors (including that of The Australian) and politicians alike, who saw the loss of Australia's ability to wield "soft power" in the region. The Mansfield Review which had led to the cuts also suggested that international television could be supported by DFAT. Due to financial and political pressures transmissions from Darwin's Cox Peninsula were also shut down in the late 1990s. In January 2017 the ABC terminated its last short-wave radio broadcasts to the Pacific region. Vanuatu's prime minister, Charlot Salwai, expressed concern, with his country having been helped by the short-wave service during Cyclone Pam in 2015; short-wave transmission is capable of reaching remote islands without FM services, enabling the provision of emergency information and warnings. ABC's former frequencies were bought by China Radio International, China's national broadcaster. ABC boss Michelle Guthrie was grilled in the Senate