This thread shows yet again, cases of arrogant, irresponsible attitude by our major airllines and aviation authorities. "It is not needed by the big aircraft, so it does not matter."
It does matter. There are 10,000 or so small aircraft and thousands of commercial pilots flying the outback who live in a hostile climate, and depend on safety nets like this. It is all they have since our authorities leave large gaps in the vhf coverage.(Yes we ahve a crude HF system)
The few big aircraft operators which fly up and down the east coast have been running Australias aviation for too long.