Brian Mitchell (Lyons, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

It's a pleasure to join the member for Riverina in backing this bill, the Broadcasting Services Amendment (Community Radio) Bill 2022. I just note that our thoughts and, I'm sure, those of the entire parliament are with the member for Riverina and his community as they battle the floods. He's just shown how important community radio is in getting information out to where it's needed, and, of course, I would put the ABC in the same basket there.

Like the member for Riverina, I'm an ex-print journo, so I think it says a lot when you've got two old print journos standing up to speak on behalf of our brethren in community radio and on the importance of community radio to local life. That's what it's all about. It's about community radio providing a local voice, a grassroots local voice at the local level. There's no doubt that the world is awash with information. There's the internet and online radio stations. The difficulty is curating that information and knowing who you can depend on. I tell you what: if you turn the dial onto your local community radio station, you'll know you're hearing local voices with local information and you'll find out what's going on in the local area.

I rise to speak in support of this important bill that is before the House. I'm a huge supporter of community radio and broadcasting services. My electorate of Lyons is made up of regional and rural communities, and it is the community stations that keep these communities connected and informed in times of bushfire, flood and other natural disasters. And, of course, just by the bye, they'll have the local CWA on. They're just a good source of local information. What this bill does is provide certainty and clarity for these broadcasters through the licensing processes. It's not very interesting, I guess, in terms of debate, but it gives all of us a chance to stand up here and talk in support of our fantastic community stations and the volunteers behind them.

Community broadcasters faced uncertainty under the former government, which ignored their calls for stability in funding. After all that community stations and broadcasters did for Australians through bushfires, floods and COVID, they didn't get the certainty they needed. Well, they're getting that certainty now. Community broadcasting relies on just over $20 million annually to maintain existing services and supports, yet under the former government this funding was due to drop to around $17 million over the forward estimates. I'm pleased to say that our budget, announced in October, includes an additional $4 million per year of ongoing funding for the program, taking the total annual funding back to over $20 million a year. That's a really terrific result, and it gives these stations the certainty they need going forward.

Every week more than five million listeners tune into more than 450 community owned and operated radio stations around the country, in the main staffed by volunteers, by people who are there just for the love of community. The listeners include 1.4 million people from non-English-speaking backgrounds, who listen to broadcasts in more than 100 languages—what a testament to our country and our multicultural heart. Community radio provides local news, tells local stories and provides a platform for local voices and music. It promotes communities and it connects communities.

I will admit some bias here, but as I travel around my electorate I often switch between local community stations, and I consider the quality of service and entertainment to be amongst the best in the nation. The member for Fisher was talking about Sunshine FM, on the Sunshine Coast, being the No. 1 station on the Sunshine Coast—what an incredible achievement—but I've got to say I've got some of the best in the nation, I reckon. On the east coast, if you are ever up in the north-east, tune into 93.7 Star FM, run by station director Blitz Greig, with his wonderful hosts, Flash and Dave Barker. From contemporary music to the classics of the 1960s, Star FM makes visiting the east all the more special. Of course, with the Bay of Fires, Freycinet and the wine region, it's an incredible place to be anyway. Down on the Tasman Peninsula I tune into Tasman FM 97.7. From old-style rock'n'roll to country and jazz, Tasman FM gives respect to our music greats, many of them from generations ago. Even if my kids don't know—and, to be honest, even if I don't know—all the favourites, we often get to sing along when we tune in. A shout out to Ian, Mick, Pastor Keith and the team for the quality of service that they provide for the Tasman region across their number of show slots.

Over in the Derwent Valley and southern Central Highlands, you switch over to the community radio station of choice, 98.9 TYGA-FM, run by a group of amazing local volunteers, including the President of the Tasmanian Legislative Council, the Labor MP Craig Farrell MLC. He is the board president, a very enthusiastic board president. TYGA-FM promotes the best that the Derwent Valley and southern Central Highlands have to offer—and it's a lot. They do everything: music, news, opinion. They're a very, very good outfit. In the Northern Midlands, you've got the choice of 95.7 Heart FM, based in Longford, and 87.6 Campbell Town Radio, class acts of local radio service that provide great service to their listenership. They're doing a really important job at the moment as we face a GP crisis in the Northern Midlands. They're keeping people involved and up to date with local information.

Over in the Meander Valley, Tim and his team do a wonderful job keeping 96.9 MVFM running strong. That station has perhaps one of the strongest followings in the state. I'm proud to be a sponsor of that great broadcaster, as I am of many of the others that I've mentioned. Swinging back down to Oatlands, in the Southern Midlands, 97.1 7MID keeps you entertained with a great range of hosts, including my friend Jamie 'Mav' Menzie, who's a brilliant local DJ. He loves his country and western and does a great job with his regular spot on the airwaves.

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