The Australia Network has been our venture into this way of building national ''soft power'' - in other words, winning friends and understanding overseas through television news and entertainment. It had an uncertain start as an ABC offshoot with some additional funding from advertising.

The broadcasts are a powerful tool of public diplomacy, furthering and promoting our foreign policy and national interests through the dissemination of ideas, information, values and beliefs and building greater understanding among the billions of people who live to our north, east and west.

Australia is the only country known to put such public diplomacy services out to tender. An independent panel of senior public servants charged to judge the two bids had recommended the contract go to Sky News, only for the government to make a late intervention in the tender process.