Pat Conaghan (Cowper, National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Social Services) Share this | Hansard source

I'd like to start by acknowledging the variety, breadth and passion that our community radio stations offer right across the country, particularly in my electorate of Cowper. Before the horrible days of social media and Facebook, community radio was one of the very few platforms to give a real hyper local voice to those under-represented by the media, and they proudly continue to do so. I listen to my community radios quite often. They provide the chat and content that appeals to sometimes niche markets that their commercial counterparts can't attach a price to. It's that invaluable feeling of connection to their community that they really offer, which those commercial stations don't.

In my electorate I have stations like 2AIR and CHY FM in Coffs Harbour—and a big hello to Angie Vaughan. You do an absolutely wonderful job there. We also have Tank FM in Kempsey—gidday, Damo Batty. There's 2bbb in Bellingen and Dorrigo, and Rhema FM in Port Macquarie. And I have special mention to OneMob Radio in Gumbaynggirr Country at Coffs Harbour. They officially commenced their digital platform in 2020.

If I can digress, I mentioned Tank FM in Kempsey and Damien Batty. Damien moved to Kempsey with his wife and daughter recently. He is an Afghan veteran. He did a couple of tours over there as a medic. He served his country proudly. I would like to thank him personally for his service to our country and the freedoms that we enjoy today. But he's immersed himself into the Kempsey community through community radio, and that's exactly what these stations do. They're community people. They're normal people. They're the people you stop and talk to every day in the street.

I will talk about the volunteers later, but I think it's fantastic that someone like Damien, who has been embraced into the Campsie community, who has given so much to our nation, can walk through that door and be embraced by those who run our community radio stations. I was also very excited to see that 2NVR in Nambucca Valley was a finalist in this year's CBAA Community Radio Awards for best radio program, excellence in sports programming, and outstanding station. That's fantastic recognition for the whole team.

I acknowledge the role that each of these stations played during the natural disasters over the last four years. During the drought they provided localised weather reports and updated conditions, and also promoted the hay drives throughout the country regions—where they were going to be, how the fodder was coming in, who was doing it and how to get access to that. During the fires—we had severe fires, losing a couple of hundred houses—they directed people to safety and kept the community up to date with stories from the residents that otherwise wouldn't have been heard. I mean no disrespect to the commercial stations, but they just do not have that message out there. They're pre-programmed, commercialised and based on money; these community radio stations are there for the community. They simply hold up a mirror to our collective grief and also hope and determination for all our communities. This continued through COVID. We were all locked down at certain stages, and many people, particularly elderly people, were stuck at home with nobody to talk to. So it's almost like having a friend in your house that you're listening to. You're listening to conversations. It kept many of our marginalised and lonely people company over that two-odd-year period. To our community radio stations, I genuinely say, for your unwavering service to our community, thank you. I mean that. You have been there for our communities, so thank you.

I've been privileged enough to be interviewed through our local community radio and their DJs in my tenure as MP for Cowper, and I really enjoyed it. The conversations that you have with the volunteers is different to what you might have on the ABC or Triple M or 2GB radio stations. It really is a testament to the engagement that each station inspires in their audience. I send a special thank you to Richard Laxton from 2NVR, Amber and Zoe on The A to Z of everything on CHY FM, and Denise Anderson from 2HC for their camaraderie—although I do note that Amber and Zoe, who are only 18, had me on the radio station for 45 minutes one night talking about driving habits.

In relation to this bill, I was pleased to see it introduced into parliament. These stations have existed to provide clarity to their listeners, and it's only fitting that we as a government provide clarity around the renewal of the community radio licences that enable these stations to broadcast. The bill clarifies the renewal process for community radio licence is not a competitive process, but that ACMA can still refuse to renew if the radio service does not meet general community needs—I note that this would be an exception rather than the rule. We know how good our stations are. Thankfully, due to the support and calibre of the stations, I would expect that it is not something that they'll face or have faced to date, but the sentiment is appreciated.

I was pleased to note that the bill also allows ACMA to provide licensees with advance dates of commencement of services so they can prepare to start on that date. That's common sense. You wouldn't open a business without knowing what date you were aiming at and being able to prepare for it, so why should a community radio station be any different? It allows them to prepare, particularly for the station's marketing platforms and the accrual of talent and volunteers.

Another key amendment provides ACMA with the ability to limit the number of temporary community radio licences in the one area, reducing confusion for listeners and operational and regulatory complexity for station organisers. These amendments are strongly supported by the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia, and I, too, agree with all of them.

I should note that this bill and the subsequent budget presented by the new government in October continues the momentum provided by the coalition to community broadcasting. In the 2021-22 budget, the coalition provided a funding boost of an additional $4 million per year over two years. This was in addition to the existing funding of just over $16 million per annum, which we continued to provide from 2021 to 2022, bringing the annual funding to over $20 million for those two years. I note that the new government has opted to continue this funding into 2023 and 2024, and I thank them for that.

In conclusion, I wholeheartedly support this legislation, and I thank the many volunteers. I note that, when we have the opportunity through community grants and volunteer grants—and I know most members do this—we always keep a keen eye out for our community radio stations, because we know that they run off the smell of an oily rag. But they do so through volunteers, and I thank all those volunteers. They do so because they love what they do, they love their local areas and they know they're providing that service for the community. They're a voice, a connector, a mirror and also a comfort for many, particularly in regional and rural Australia. I hope to see this proud tradition in their communities continue for many years to come.

See this speech in context