Do I understand it that the impetus for change will have to come from WITHIN the HAM fraternity? I understand the necessity for allocation of HF emergency frequencies from within HAM bands, as Schwert and others point out, but won't that take a lot of goodwill, and good old political lobbying on the part of the HAM community, while they still have the numbers?
At the same time I applaud the valuable service 'amateurs' have provided in emergencies - earthquakes, floods etc, in many countries over the years, but to a certain extent even this capability has been short-circuited by the use of satellite telephony.
So the world is a-changing...
BTW, we do have a privately owned VHF/MF/HF outfit, licensed to the Federal Government, operating on the east coast of Australia. For a reasonable members fee, cruising yachtsmen, and folk driving in the Outback, have access to long distance HF comms.
And just repeating my earlier request: has anyone come across a MF/HF marine band portable on the market, anywhere... Alaska, NZ perhaps?

PeterR
Wollongong, Australia