Pat Conroy (Charlton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Yesterday we learned that 1233 ABC Newcastle has been decimated by this government. Because of their budget cuts, we will lose Helen Clare, Carol Duncan and their teams who produce quality radio shows that speak to and about our community. Most importantly, our community will suffer because this will have an impact on the station's ability to provide emergency coverage.

Nobody from Newcastle, Lake Macquarie or the Central Coast will forget the devastating bushfires that ravaged our region in October last year. In my electorate in Minmi and in Wyee, families were evacuated and traffic diversions put in place. It was the local ABC radio that kept us informed of where evacuation centres were, when it was safe to return home and what the impact was on our environment and on our towns. It was the local ABC radio that provided a space for the outpouring of community spirit. They harnessed the generosity of the people that live in the Hunter and helped coordinate donations for those who had been forced to flee their homes and who had lost so much.

It is in times of disaster that we see the best in our communities and 1233 ABC Newcastle is a vital part of ours. To see it gutted by this government is devastating. The government is hurting the people of the Hunter region and they should be ashamed. They made a solemn election eve promise of no cuts to the ABC. It is the people of the Hunter and the great services of the 1233 ABC that suffer because of this lie.