Mike Symon (Deakin, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak about the provision of digital spectrum for community television. The announcement by the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy, on 4 November was very welcome indeed. With the current changeover from analog to digital transmission well underway, the number of people who have digital TVs in their household is increasing every day. The current June 2009 figure for households which have converted to digital TV now stands at 53 per cent.

This has presented a problem to community TV broadcasters, as until now they have been shut out of the digital market and left with only analog transmission. This has led to a decline in viewing audiences in recent times, as not everyone is able to, or aware of how to, watch analog transmissions on digital TV receivers.

Channel 31, the Melbourne based community TV broadcaster, along with TVS in Sydney, QCTV in Brisbane and Channel 31 in Adelaide, has been temporarily allocated vacant spectrum, which will enable simulcast until the analog switch-off in 2013. The Australian community television sector has also been allocated $2.6 million in funding support to help cover the cost of upgrading systems to enable that digital broadcasting.

I am on the record as being a supporter of community broadcasting. I have spoken in this place previously on the restoration of student services in the tertiary sector where that tied into broadcasting, and it is great news that community TV is now being accommodated on digital. But we do have to look at why this has happened. It was the Howard government that neglected to allocate digital spectrum to community TV in 2001. At the time, all commercial and national TV stations were given digital spectrum space. The current announcement means that community TV can now be watched by a much larger audience both now and in the future.

I visited the studios in Swanston Street and discussed the operation of Channel 31 with the management, workers and volunteers and was really impressed with both their professionalism and their enthusiasm. Channel 31 commenced broadcasting in 1994 and has a permanent licence that was granted in 2004. It now has 1.4 million viewers per month. Some 27 people are directly employed by the station, 80 people are directly employed producing shows for Channel 31 and over 1,300 volunteers work on its programs. Channel 31 and the other, interstate community TV stations undertake important training roles for students who are entering or considering entering into the workplace in TV, radio or other related areas both in front of the camera and behind the scenes.

Channel 31, its staff and volunteers are to be commended for their innovation and resourcefulness. They manage to produce on a shoestring shows that otherwise would not go to air. On receiving advice that the Rudd government was supporting the station, the news release from the station was moved to say, ‘Thanks, Kev.’ On behalf of a large and diverse audience and the many, many constituents who wrote to me on this matter I would like to say, ‘Thanks, Channel 31.’