Bruce Billson (Dunkley, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Sustainable Development and Cities) Share this | Hansard source

Four and a half million—or should I say 4,519,000, Mr Parliamentary Secretary? That is an increase. It is about 27 per cent of the listening radio audience, up from 25 per cent. That is a lot of people.

I know from my own experience on the Mornington Peninsula that 3RPP do a great job. I am sure my friend and colleague the member for Holt has been on their station; they run an outstanding show. But I remember from my work supporting 3RPP that my Rotary club had to run some business fundraising lunches to generate some money to go towards the replacement of the broadcast tower on Arthurs Seat. That sounds like a pretty reasonable proposition—the tower was, I think, also shared by the local fire authority. It is an example of how the community needed to get behind the community radio station. I have not quite yet had the phone call asking, ‘Can you help us raise some money so we can convert to digital?’ I am hopeful and optimistic there will be love and understanding and ‘leadership’ by the government and that they will help provide the resources to make that transition to digital, particularly with the physical infrastructure that is required.

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