Paul Fletcher (Bradfield, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Government Services and the Digital Economy) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Broadcasting Services Amendment (Community Radio) Bill 2022. Community broadcasting provides a vital service in hundreds of communities across the country. According to the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia, there are more than 500 community broadcast radio services across the country. Some 5.3 million Australians tune in to listen to local news, community information, Australian music and artists, local opinion and independent voices weekly. Importantly, two-thirds of these stations service regional and rural areas of Australia, connecting people and voices to vital information not often prioritised by other media services. Shout out to Triple H in my electorate.

Community radio and television delivers to Australians a very powerful, highly localised voice, which is particularly important in times of natural disaster. Community radio and television in these circumstances can be a real lifeline for communities, facilitating news, information and emergency updates. Community broadcasters also assist local residents and organisations to coordinate relief efforts to get towns and suburbs back on their feet, whether it be following the recent catastrophic floods or the Black Summer bushfires. I also acknowledge and commend the work of community broadcasters during the pandemic. They were able to provide solace and timely local information at a time of great stress for Australians, many of whom were facing social isolation and suffering from a loss of connection with family and friends. This included vital information for culturally and linguistically diverse communities.

When in government, the coalition demonstrated that we do have a strong commitment to supporting the valuable contribution which community radio makes to the diversity of the Australian media landscape. As minister for communications at that time, I was pleased that our government was able to provide a funding boost of $4 million per annum over two years from 2021-22 in addition to maintaining the existing funding of just over $16 million per annum in those two years, representing a total annual funding commitment to the sector of just over $20 million. The coalition also extended the licensing arrangements for Australia's two remaining metropolitan community television broadcasters—Channel 31 in Melbourne and Channel 44 in Adelaide—for up to three years, providing certainty and continuity of operations. The shadow minister for communications, Senator Henderson, recently visited Channel 31's new premises in South Melbourne, made possible because of the certainty this license extension provided.

When in government, the coalition recognised that there were a number of issues with the current drafting of the Broadcasting Services Act with respect to the regulation of the community broadcasting sector and in particular in relation to community broadcasting licences administered by the Australian Communications and Media Authority. We began the important work of consulting with the sector on changes which need to be made. I'm therefore pleased to be speaking on this bill, which has the support of the opposition, and which is the culmination of a considerable body of work that was commenced when the Liberal and National parties were in government.

Dan Tehan (Wannon, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Immigration and Citizenship) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

And you were the minister.

Paul Fletcher (Bradfield, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Government Services and the Digital Economy) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

History does record that that is correct.

This bill makes a number of amendments to the Broadcasting Services Act. The bill makes it clear that the renewal of a community radio licences is not a competitive process. This provides the Australian Communications and Media Authority and community radio broadcasters with greater regulatory certainty. This also means that radio stations will have greater confidence to invest long term in their operations, services, equipment and premises, subject to radio broadcasters meeting the requisite performance benchmarks under the act. The Australian Communications and Media Authority, of course, is able to refuse to renew a licence if the broadcaster falls short of providing a service which meets community needs in the interests of all Australians. The bill makes it clear that the Australian Communications and Media Authority can provide licensees in advance with dates for the commencement of services. While this is quite a technical matter, it does mean that community broadcasters will have appropriate notice as to the date on which they are able to commence operations, providing greater operational and regulatory certainty.

The bill addresses a number of concerns raised by the community broadcasting sector through their peak body, the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia, in relation to the allocation of temporary community licences. The bill provides that the Australian Communications and Media Authority has the ability to limit the number of temporary community broadcasting licences in the one geographical area, which is an important measure in reducing confusion for listeners and regulatory complexity. This will avert situations such as that which has arisen in the Windsor and Hawkesbury area where multiple licence holders are sharing the same frequency in different time slots. The Australian Communications and Media Authority will have greater flexibility to ascertain if a temporary community licence is providing a quality service. While the bill gives support to the notion of temporary licences to allow broadcasters the best opportunity to access valuable spectrum in a fair and equitable manner and to be able to demonstrate a track record, this amendment will be important to safeguard the integrity and quality of community broadcasting services.

I conclude therefore by reiterating that the coalition, when in government, demonstrated a strong track record in supporting the community media sector. I want to express our thanks to and admiration of all of those Australians who work in community television and community radio, including the many, many Australians who volunteer in those roles. This bill provides further support for community broadcasting. The opposition looks forward to continuing to work closely with the community broadcasting sector in support of the important contribution that sector makes in the life of our nation.

Josh Wilson (Fremantle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It's a real privilege to speak in support of the Broadcasting Services Amendment (Community Radio) Bill 2022 and in support of community radio. Community radio is super, super important right across this country. One in five Australians listens to community radio every week and two-thirds of community radio stations exist in rural and regional Australia. It is just such a vital part of our national cultural and communicative life, and that is one of the reasons why we're dealing with this bill now, in the first six months of this government. We have lots of big things to do. People in the community would have seen our focus on things like the National Anti-Corruption Commission and the bill to deliver secure jobs and better pay. Here we are before the end of our first year and we are going to do something about community radio because that's how important community radio is.

The bill does a number of things. It improves regulatory conditions, which will allow the sector to thrive. It works hand-in-hand with the fact that we're providing additional funding through the budget, an additional $4 million that lifts the annual contribution to more than $20 million. We have established a review to look at new ways to increase the sector's sustainability. All of those things are really important. They have been identified by the sector for some time. I know that Jo Curtin, the CEO of the Community Broadcasting Foundation, has said that the funding will have a really positive impact on sector sustainability and the media landscape. She said:

This funding will enhance the sustainability of our sector which serves as one of the only remaining local sources of news and information, particularly in regional and remote communities.

That really makes the point that it's not just the statistics that I mentioned before that make community radio so vital to the best form of community and cultural life in Australia. It is the diversity. It is the place- and community-specific programming. It is the focus on social inclusion and the way community radio is, probably as far as media outlets or platforms go, one of the most significant when it comes to covering First Nations stories and giving space to First Nations voices and First Nations languages.

The fact that we have prioritised this bill in the first six months of this government is consistent with another aspect of this government, which is picking up some of the mess that was left to it. It's good that the opposition is going to support this bill, but the opposition had the opportunity to deal with funding uncertainty in the sector when it was behind the wheel and it didn't do that. The sector called on the previous government on a number of occasions to provide certainty of funding, which didn't occur. The usual four-year funding round process was changed, with an extension of only two years until 2023. You can understand that, with the nature of community radio being volunteer based and often relatively financially fragile, when you go from four years worth of funding certainty to only two years of funding certainty it is a shock to the system. That's the decision that the former government made. Under the former government, funding was going to decline. It was due to drop to around $17 million over the forward estimates under its last budget. It's only the additional $4 million that this government is providing that will in fact see funding to community radio go up to $20 million.

I want to acknowledge the fantastic work of the Minister for Communications, because I know that over a long period of time she has been very conscious of community radio as a vital part of our media landscape. I think it says something about the minister and also about the government that while we look at some of the big building blocks of life and shared wellbeing in Australia we're not forgetting to pick up a whole bunch of the essential bits and pieces along the way. The Minister for Communications has a huge task to fix up the awful multitechnology NBN mess that's been left to households and businesses across Australia. She is focused on that, but at the same time she's going to make sure that we look after community radio ASAP. That's vital.

In my electorate of Freo, I can cite a couple of examples. Radio Fremantle was established back in 1987. It's 107.9 FM. It's still broadcasting from Hamilton Hill. It's still run by volunteers. It's a great example of a station that gives people across my community the opportunity to come and play the music that they are interested in and conduct interviews and current affairs programs around things that are relevant to people in Fremantle, Cockburn and East Fremantle. Similarly, SportFM, 91.3 FM, in Hamilton Hill covers grassroots sports that otherwise wouldn't be covered by bigger commercial outlets.

For me, personally, community radio has a very special status. It was one of the things that gave my dad the greatest joy in his life. He was involved in university radio back in the 1970s. In fact, when the University of Western Australia got a community radio licence in April 1977—6UWA, as it then was—my dad was part of a group of what I guess were probably music radicals at the time. They went to whoever was responsible at the university and asked them if they could please carve out a little bit of time, a few hours in the week, for what was called NCP, non-classical music programming, so they could play blues, jazz and other things they were interested in. 6UWA became 6UVS-FM, and ultimately, in 1991, it was restructured to be Arts Radio Ltd or RTRFM, and that continues to this day.

My dad was the inaugural chair of RTRFM when it was given that new foundation for existence. The program that he was involved in, Sunday Morning Coming Down, is still a feature of RTR programming, and some of the people that he used to broadcast with are still part of that programming. It's formed a lovely continuity, I think, in community life in Western Australia and certainly in my personal life. I've also been fortunate to participate in current affairs programs, like Understorey, which is run by Adrian Glamorgan. One of the things I want to note about that is that Adrian has made a big effort to give space in his programming to issues like peace and nuclear nonproliferation, which, frankly, should get talked about a hell of a lot more than they do.

This government is focused on myriad things. Some of them are big and momentous, but we are not turning our gaze from any of the shortcomings that were left to us by the former government. We're not turning our gaze from any of the key features of community and cultural life that desperately need a helping hand if we're to have a diverse media landscape—a media landscape full of all of the colours, flavours and voices that make Australia such a wonderful place—so I'm very glad to support what we're doing with respect to community radio.

Andrew Wallace (Fisher, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise in support of the Broadcasting Services Amendment (Community Radio) Bill 2022. It's been said that community broadcasting is a thing of the past—that commercial radio, podcasting and music streaming services have filled the gap. Don't get me wrong; I don't mind listening to Sam and Ash on Hot 91.1 or Todd and Sami on 92.7 MIX FM. In fact, I love Todd and Sami. All those four guys are fantastic, and they do a great job for our local community. I use all sorts of streaming platforms, like ABC NewsRadio. I wish NewsRadio would fix their platform, though, because sometimes it's a little bit dodgy. I need to be careful, on this side of the House, about owning up to the fact that I use the ABC streaming service, but it's true—I do.

I'm here to say that community broadcasting on the Sunshine Coast isn't just carrying on; it is absolutely thriving. The main community radio station on the Sunshine Coast—I know you'll never guess the name correctly, Mr Deputy Speaker—is Sunshine FM. This is a terrific radio station. Many on the Sunshine Coast don't know this, but it is in fact the No. 1 radio station on the Sunshine Coast by listenership. It's not a commercial broadcaster, not the ABC, not triple J or Double J or anything like that; it's a community broadcaster.

Sunshine FM takes about 35 per cent of the radio audience on the Sunshine Coast, despite a narrow target market of what they describe as 'more mature folks'—perhaps like you and me, Mr Deputy Speaker Goodenough! They're reaching 40 per cent of listeners over 40 and 52 per cent of listeners over 65. They attract 10 per cent more than the best-performing commercial broadcaster and almost 300 per cent more than ABC Sunshine Coast. That number has only grown, despite the resourcing, personnel and broadcast consumption challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Sunshine FM is the only community broadcaster reaching numbers into six digits across the region.

I give a big shout-out to Chris Wordsworth, who is one of the executives there; Lynda Prout, who is on in the mornings; and Trevor Young. Lynda Prout—has she got a voice for radio. When I speak to her—and it is regularly—I often comment that she has got the best voice for radio. I always like to pump up her tyres a little bit. I pay tribute to them for their hard work, tenacity and passion for the Sunshine Coast. They play great music as well.

When you add the other community broadcasters to the mix—and we have a lot of Christian community radio stations on the Sunshine Coast who broadcast to not just South-East Queensland but the Pacific—they account for 46 per cent of the total radio broadcast market. In speaking to this bill I reflect on the vital role played by Sunshine FM and the various community broadcasters on the Sunshine Coast.

Community broadcasters have long been raising concerns with the approach of the Australian Communications and Media Authority in their granting of licences and their management of compliance and assessment. As a result of these changes, community radio broadcasters will enjoy more certainty around what is required of them and existing broadcasters will be supported with a clearer, more flexible and more streamlined renewal process. One of the biggest frustrations for broadcasters is that each time they're required to renew their licence they are essentially treated as new applicants. This fails to reflect their hard work and years of community service. It also adds an excessive and unnecessary burden on largely volunteer organisations whose personnel and resources are more often than not stretched.

Broadcasters have also raised concerns about ACMA's uneven and unclear approach to licensing, compliance and assessment. While the existing legislation gives some direction, it is in no way exhaustive or prescriptive. This bill replaces the old provision for the refusal of renewal applications for a community broadcasting licence with a provision that is far clearer about that discretion vested in ACMA.

Under the new provision, ACMA will retain its ability when considering applications for CBL renewals to consider six key criteria. The first key criterion is the extent to which the service would meet the existing and perceived future needs of the community within the licence area of the proposed licence. The second key criterion is the nature and diversity of the interests of that community and the extent to which the proposed service or services would provide material of local significance. The third key criterion is the nature and diversity of other broadcasting services available within that licence area. The fourth key criterion is the capacity of the applicant to provide the proposed service or services. The fifth key criterion is the concentration of licences or control of multiple licences in one person or service. I note that there has been a change of deputy speaker because you wanted to come in to listen to this speech about community radio, as well you should—

Scott Buchholz (Wright, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I specifically asked for this roster.

Andrew Wallace (Fisher, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The sixth key criterion is the undesirability of the Commonwealth, a state, a territory or a political party being in a position to exercise control of a community broadcasting licence.

These criteria aim to ensure that community broadcasting reflects the needs and wants of the local community. Like any other registered organisation or not-for-profit, they also require services to demonstrate their impartiality, independence, utility, uniqueness and capacity to deliver. They also make clear that the process is not commercial and competitive in nature but, rather, aimed at supporting broadcasters whose work and content supports and serves the community in which they operate.

The bill goes some way to addressing the frustration that many community broadcasters feel in having to meet often complex compliance obligations without the resources of commercial stations, bearing in mind that many of these community radio stations are staffed almost entirely, or very significantly, by volunteers. Currently, when allocating new licences, the date of allocation is the date on which ACMA has irrevocably decided to allocate the licence. I repeat: irrevocably. There is no room for change. It's a burden imposed on organisations without the resources and staff of commercial broadcasters. It means that broadcasters who may have very limited advance notice to prepare their station for broadcast lose out on the use of their broadcasting spectrum, reducing the effective duration of their licence at their own cost.

This bill aims to change that. It allows successful licensees to work with ACMA to plan and make necessary arrangements for broadcasting before their licence comes into effect. This is about ACMA, as a regulator, partnering with the community broadcasting sector instead of penalising without regard for the shifting nature of volunteer and community engagement. Under the new provisions, licensees seeking a renewal of their community broadcasting licence may now, in exceptional circumstances, lodge late applications for renewal before their current licence expires. By removing the automatic refusal and allowing for some leniency, these community-run radio broadcasters have a little bit of wiggle room to meet their obligations, seek additional support and assess their capacity at the time of renewal without losing five or more years of hard work. Our volunteer organisations, particularly in regional Queensland seats like mine and yours, Mr Deputy Speaker, face constant volunteer shortages, transient teams and high rates of turnover. It's hard enough to get someone to come and work for money at the moment, let alone to get them to come and volunteer. By granting this little bit of grace, we can give them a fair go when they may need it most.

In conclusion, these changes may not seem terribly significant to the vast majority of us in this place, but to the thousands of Australians across the country who volunteer and work in community broadcasting and, more particularly, to the thousands—in fact, millions—of Australians who rely upon community broadcasting for their music and news this is just so very, very important. This bill could mean the difference between their station existing in five years or not at all. For the millions of Australians who listen to community radio, including the roughly 149,000 on the Sunshine Coast, this bill ensures that they'll have access to good music and local content for many years to come. I commend the bill to the House.

Susan Templeman (Macquarie, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

A lot has been said in support of this very important part of our media landscape, the community broadcasting sector. It's particularly important to me. I started out in community radio as an 18-year-old. I met my husband at community radio many, many years ago. I don't even want to tell you how many years ago that was! What's more, it also sent me on the path of being a broadcaster—a radio journalist—and it was my stepping stone to working for Mike Carlton and 2GB when I started out in radio. So I have nothing but praise for the changes that are in this bill, the Broadcasting Services Amendment (Community Radio) Bill 2022, to help strengthen what we have. It's become even more important to have community broadcasting, with the lack of diversity that we see in our mainstream broadcasting these days. I wanted to provide that context for it. I think that's why it was disappointing, in the last nine years or so, to see the uncertainty that community broadcasters faced under the former government. There were calls for stability and certainty of funding, and those were not heeded. So I'm delighted to see support from those opposite for these measures.

Community broadcasters do an awful lot for their local communities—for us, it has been through bushfires, through floods and through COVID. They were, for some people, the lifeline and the link to what was happening elsewhere in the local community. And all they got from the former coalition government was a lot of uncertainty. During the pandemic, they were ignored when they called for sustainable funding, and you can imagine the challenges they were under during that period. Instead of granting the usual four-year top-up funding, for some inexplicable reason the coalition only gave the sector two years of funding, which was due to run out next year. Like a lot of things this government has done, it expires next year.

Community broadcasting relies on just over $20 million a year to maintain existing services and supports. Under the former government, funding was due to drop to around $17 million over the forward estimates. Our budget commitment will maintain community broadcasting funding so the sector can continue to support their communities with local news, emergency broadcasting and local content—including, of course, Australian music and local music. The Albanese budget of 2022 includes an additional $4 million per year of ongoing funding for the community broadcasting program from 2023-24. It takes that funding program to over $20 million a year. I note these comments from Jo Curtin, the CEO of the Community Broadcasting Foundation, who said the funding will have a positive impact on sector sustainability and the media landscape:

This budget acknowledges the essential role community radio plays in an increasingly concentrated media environment. This funding will enhance the sustainability of our sector which serves as one of the only remaining local sources of news and information, particularly in regional and remote communities.

It's certainly a very, very much needed voice in the Hawkesbury and Blue Mountains in my electorate.

I have spent a lot of time working with Community Broadcasting Association of Australia over the last few years because of a circumstance that I will describe and which this bill will address, and I was pleased that Jon Bisset, the CEO of the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia, has also welcomed that funding. It's funding certainty for over 350 community broadcasters, so a small amount goes a really long way in community radio.

But what we faced in the Hawkesbury is one of the issues being addressed in this bill, and that is the issue of temporary licences. Many years ago, back in 2017 or thereabouts, there was a decision made by ACMA to take away a permanent licence and turn it into a temporary licence. Initially, we started out with a few different organisations sharing that licence spectrum. We got to the ridiculous situation, though—after ACMA's failure to really tackle what was going on and work toward a permanent licence—where we'd ended up with seven temporary licensees. That meant they got one day a week of broadcasting. That has been an impossible situation for them to be in, and it has been a really challenging period of time. Only in the last week has a decision been made to allocate a permanent licence in our area. That licence has been granted to Pulse FM Radio, and I congratulate them on getting that licence. I also want to acknowledge the disappointment that the other temporary licensees had. There are now many broadcasters who are very disappointed that they won't be getting the permanent licence.

We've talked about the volunteers. Those volunteers put their heart and soul into community radio. I want to thank them for what they've done, in keeping issues that are important on air, in keeping the airwaves alive through a very difficult process, over many years. I look forward to there being a real sense of inclusion and to those who want to broadcast in the Hawkesbury getting the chance to do that. We have a wealth of radio talent—an absolute wealth of it—and I really hope there are opportunities for all members of the community who'd like to make a contribution through this medium to do it.

What is so pleasing about this legislation is that it gives ACMA the discretion to limit the number of temporary community broadcasting licences that can share a particular frequency. It has always been the policy intent of the act to enable temporary licensees to share frequencies, to assist with the sustainability of the community broadcasting sector and management of the spectrum, but when you get to a position where you're giving seven different organisations a day, it does not serve your community or those broadcasters.

I welcome this legislation. That's one example of some of the things it will address. I look forward to both the Hawkesbury and Blue Mountains having a very vibrant, inclusive community radio sector, because our community needs that voice.

Pat Conaghan (Cowper, National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Social Services) Share this | Link to 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.

Fiona Phillips (Gilmore, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am glad to rise tonight in support of the Broadcasting Services Amendment (Community Radio) Bill 2022. This bill gives community radio stations greater clarity and certainty in applying for community broadcasting licences. It gives regional communities like ours on the New South Wales South Coast more local content and more local voices on our airwaves. Anyone who has ever listened to community radio will know what a fabulous job it does, often with volunteers and passionate people dedicated to sharing the stories of their community. Not only this; it is often an opportunity for local artists to practise their craft and reach new audiences.

Firstly, the government has worked across the sector to fix some of the barriers that were in place for new community radio stations to get off the ground. This bill will clarify that the renewal process for community radio licences is not a competitive process. So, when ACMA is considering a renewal application, it will only consider the current radio service and not a proposed new station. This gives certainty to existing licensees while preserving ACMA's ability to refuse to renew a licence if it is found that the current licensee is not providing a radio service that meets general community needs.

Secondly, the bill will allow licences to be allocated in advance, providing prospective stations with notice to prepare broadcasting infrastructure and content programming before the commencement date. This amendment will give prospective stations the time needed to plan and prepare so that they can start broadcasting with their best foot forward. The bill also improves the administrative efficiency and flexibility of the licence renewal process.

In my electorate, we are blessed with some truly fantastic community radio stations. Since 1984, there has been Triple U FM in the Shoalhaven, covering a stretch from Gerringong to Termeil and out to Kangaroo Valley and areas east of Robertson. The show broadcasts from the Shoalhaven Regional Gallery, so I regularly enjoy chats with Carol and Jane to discuss all things politics and community. I also chat with Chance and Bec when they're broadcasting their brekky show from Bomaderry but also when they're out and about in their HEV van. There's the Bay & Basin Community Radio, a program of the fabulous Bay & Basin Community Resources, which has been operating since 1991 with the aim of helping people thrive in their communities. I've always enjoyed a catch up with Marilyn, and even the Sanctuary Point Public School has a regular spot. In the southern part of my electorate there is 2EAR FM, Eurobodalla Access Radio. Disko Pete and I enjoy a regular chinwag about the news of the day and what's happening locally. 2EAR FM studios are based in sunny Moruya—as they say, 'Yes, we are broadcasting in paradise!'

The local community was absolutely devastated when during the 2019-20 bushfires 2EAR FM's main link antenna on Mount Wandera was destroyed by the bushfires on New Year's Eve. We all breathed a sigh of relief when transmission was back up and running in February 2020—just another reason why I'm so delighted that the Albanese government is fireproofing the Mount Wandera tower to try to avoid the loss of crucial services like this. During the bushfires community radio and all of our radio stations literally saved the lives of local people. They were there on the ground telling the stories of people who were experiencing the bushfires in real time and giving information about where the fire was, where to get help and what was happening. I want to thank each and every broadcaster, volunteer and community member who helped get us through that immensely difficult period. I have mentioned a few of the presenters across these stations, but there are so many more that it would be impossible to name them all. But your commitment to our community and your passion in delivering local voices, fun local content, music, entertainment and more is so incredibly valued.

That brings me to our newest community radio station in my electorate, Kiama Community Radio. Their story most recently really shows why this bill is needed and why it will make such a positive change to our community radio stations. Kiama Community Radio started in March 2020, at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. They wanted to make sure that the Kiama community was connected, so they began by producing community based podcasts while building their studio and training their live presenters, all while waiting for their community broadcasting licence. Their motto is: for the community, by the community.

I was pleased to provide them with a $4,601 volunteer grant earlier in the year to help them purchase some live-streaming equipment. I got to check out their studio and have a bit of fun with the presenters, just what it's all about. It's a labour of love by president David Toohey and others trying to build to a live broadcast service, but today Kiama Community Radio is still podcast based because they have been unable to obtain a community radio licence. After applying to ACMA for a community broadcast licence, David was told that they should instead look to 'piggyback' on the services of other community broadcasters outside the area. They were told to provide Kiama content to other community radio stations and ask them to broadcast it for them. But other broadcasters were unwilling to provide them with airtime and wouldn't alter their programming to include content based outside of their target area.

Kiama Community Radio is the first of its kind, dedicated to the community, from Gerroa in the south to Minnamurra in the north, Foxground, Jamberoo, Carrington Falls and the upper Kangaroo Valley. They work to give their community a voice, and when I met with them earlier this year their podcasts had been downloaded over 4,500 times. But they wanted to reach a larger audience and, for that, they need a community broadcasting licence. I hope that this bill will help to support Kiama Community Radio and others like it around the country in their efforts to obtain a community broadcasting licence. Clarifying that this is not a competitive process, providing certainty and clarity to those applying for licences and reducing the administrative burden will help to support volunteers and community broadcasters all over Australia.

The Albanese government is committed to supporting the long-term sustainability of the community broadcasting sector. We have provided an additional $4 million per year of ongoing funding for the Community Broadcasting Program, taking its annual funding to over $20 million a year. This bill is the next step in providing certainty for community broadcasters and ensuring that local listeners like those on the South Coast can hear their voices and their stories told by local people. Once again, I want to thank all of our local community radio providers, presenters, volunteers, listeners and everyone who engages with this really important local content. I support this bill wholeheartedly.

Zoe Daniel (Goldstein, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Community radio is an essential element in the jigsaw that makes up our media landscape, offering diversity through a range of voices at a time when there has been disturbing concentration in the mainstream media. As the minister has noted, more than five million people, one-fifth of the population, tune in to the more than 450 community owned and operated radio stations around Australia every week. The details are even more impressive. Close to 700,000 community radio consumers listen to nothing else—not commercial radio, not the ABC, not SBS. The sector argues, therefore—with ample justification I believe—that it provides a voice for communities that are underserved by mainstream media. Notably and importantly this includes communities in rural and regional Australia, Indigenous communities, culturally and linguistically diverse communities, the LGBTIQA+ communities and people with a disability. Thirty per cent of community broadcasters are Indigenous stations.

Community broadcasters were also among the unsung heroes of the pandemic and the Black Summer of 2019-20. They provided essential information targeted at local communities throughout the worst of COVID, helping connect people most isolated throughout the lockdowns. During that awful bushfire summer more than 80 community radio stations offered emergency broadcasts specific to the communities they served. They may well have saved lives.

I've said before that I'm deeply concerned about the impact on our democracy of the reduction of media diversity in our country. In my own electorate of Goldstein there are now no community newspapers, for example. Community radio station Southern FM does a great job keeping the community informed and entertained. I have regularly appeared on its programs to keep the Goldstein community informed of the actions that I am taking in this place.

Having so few local outlets though raises concerns. What we see in Goldstein is repeated across the country. Many local government areas, especially in the country, are effectively news deserts, with no local outlets at all. Community radio strives to fill that void. An in-depth study by PEN USA found that, as communities lost their local news outlets, local corruption increased and the quality of spending decisions by local government was eroded. I doubt that it's a different story in our own communities here in Australia.

According to the Public Interest Journalism Initiative, more than 250 media outlets across the country closed between the beginning of 2019 and March this year—nearly 70 per cent of them were in regional Australia. The transfer of the ownership of APN to News Corp led to more than 100 local print newspapers being shut down. At the national level, News Corp has a 59 per cent share of the metropolitan and national print media market by readership, Nine newspapers have 23 per cent and, in WA, Seven West Media has a print monopoly.

Our metropolitan media outlets no longer have the staff or the corporate knowledge to enable them to effectively report on a regular basis on local councils and their decision-making. Local reporting from reporters with experience and with local knowledge is I think an antidote to dodgy decisions by local authorities. The fact that they're being observed and their decisions are being scrutinised is often enough to stop them thinking they can get away with it.

We should not, therefore, underestimate the value of community radio as an incubator and a launching pad, nurturing the arts and journalism. Here's just the most recent example. Allison Langdon, who is taking over the helm of A Current Affair, began her career as a teenage volunteer presenting programs on 2WAY FM on the New South Wales North Coast. As a matter of fact my story is much the same. I began as a uni student producing and presenting news on 5UV, the University of Adelaide's community radio station, and ended up Washington bureau chief for the ABC. Without that experience and opportunity I wonder whether I would have ever gone on to a three-decade career in journalism.

Community radio has also been critical in the blossoming of Australian music over the decades. Gotye, Courtney Barnett and Dan Sultan are just a handful of the most recent examples. It's highly unlikely that they would have gone on to national, let alone international, success without the support of community radio. Dealing as it does with regulation and licensing, the Broadcasting Services Amendment (Community Radio) Bill 2022 may seem like a niche piece of legislation, but it has important implications for the security, diversity and expansion of community radio, and therefore for the diversity of our media landscape. I commend the bill to the House.

Alison Byrnes (Cunningham, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I speak today in support of the Broadcasting Services Amendment (Community Radio) Bill 2022. This bill will help community radio stations by providing greater clarity and certainty for community broadcasting licensing processes. There are more than 450 community owned and operated radio stations in Australia, attracting more than five million listeners each week.

One of these stations is the Illawarra's very own Vox FM, which has been serving the community for over 25 years. For anyone travelling through the region, you can tune in on 106.9. Earlier this year, they were the winners of the Community Group of the Year award at the Wollongong 2022 Australia Day Awards. The team at Vox FM are a dedicated group of volunteers, and I served on their donations committee for a period of time before running for parliament.

The station is run by an amazing group of people with Lilian Wings as president, John Clare as vice president, Judy Clare as treasurer, Barrie Keenahan as secretary and four directors: Reetu Verma, Joe Patterson, Ben Hession and Jacqui Preedy. Their presenters are: Monday Breakfast, Billy Harvey; Side By Side, Eric Davies; Grapevine, Dr Reetu Verma; Afternoon with Allan Bird; Vitamin Dee, Dee Milenkovic; Monday Drive, Judy Clare; Tuesday Breakfast, Dee Milenkovic; Carmel's Collection, Carmel Collins; Through The Past Darkly, Tim Brosnan; Headway, Tony S and Allan H; Smooth Connection, Sylvia J; Tuesday Drive, Peter Blom; Wednesday Breakfast, Matt Ball; Ease Away With Barrie K, Barrie Keenahan; Greenacres, Dan and Ian; Wednesday Drive, Sylvia Jones; Thursday Breakfast, Sean O'Neill; Fascinating Rhythm, John Fox; Heroes and Friends, Neill Hawes; Health Nuts, Liz Bowswart; Frank's Selection, Frank and Faye Costello; Thursday Drive, Jacob Henson; Friday Breakfast, Kevin Barron; My Generation, Lilian Wings; Mid-Morning Music, Elaine Hart; It is Well With My Soul, the Anglican Church; and Friday Drive, Des Mott.

I want to thank the board and the many volunteers who keep this station running. Your work for our community is so important, and we are so lucky to have such dedicated and experienced people running the show. Community radio fulfils many important functions for the regions they serve, especially in a country as culturally diverse as Australia. Many multicultural community groups use our local Vox FM to connect. Our region's diversity is one of the things I love most, and our diversity is reflected in the Vox FM's programming. A few months ago, Vox FM started a new Arabic program with Gus, and it has proven to be a big hit with the community. This service that community radio provides for groups who might otherwise be excluded from mainstream media outlets cannot be understated.

Earlier this year, I had the pleasure of attending Vox FM's member appreciation day with Lillian, Barrie and many of volunteers who run the station. It was a fantastic community day, with good food, music, dancing and even a paper-plane throwing competition—although I came second last. Last Saturday, I also attended their annual Christmas party hosted by Vitamin Dee, and it was a great to be able to thank the volunteers for all of their hard work at the end of another hard year. I was also recently interviewed on Vox by Dan and Ian from Greenacres Disability Services. Dan and Ian host their show every Wednesday from 12 to 1 pm, and they've been on-air since 2014. We spoke about the NDIS and their personal experiences of it in the Illawarra. They pulled no punches with their questions, but they were very fair, fun and professional. It was an honour to be invited onto their program.

Vox FM was a source of critical information during the recent floods, and they shared important health information. During the pandemic, they frequently provided the community with updates and Illawarra-specific information. They also support other local community groups, helping them to advertise fundraising efforts and events. Stations like Vox FM, and the people involved in them, really do help to make the communities they are in more connected and vibrant. That is why this bill is so important. We need to keep community radio alive.

The first measure of this bill clarifies that community radio licence renewal is not a competitive process. This is in line with the original intent of the act; however, it needs to be explicitly stated. The bill will also clarify ACMA's powers when allocating the new community broadcasting licences and temporary community broadcasting licences. This amendment will allow new stations to have advance notice to set up the infrastructure and station programming, providing these stations with the best possible start. The third change gives greater flexibility to ACMA when determining if a temporary licensee is not providing a quality service and clarifies the considerations that ACMA should be giving when allocating new licences. The intent of the temporary licensing scheme is to give aspiring broadcasters fair and effective access to the spectrum. This will remain unchanged.

The bill also allows ACMA to limit the number of temporary community broadcasting licensees that can share a particular frequency. It was the original intent of the policy to allow temporary licensees to share frequencies, but ACMA should have the ability to set a limit if necessary. ACMA will also be able to introduce deadlines for late applications to the community broadcasting licensing process. Finally, the bill will enable ACMA to delegate the decision to commence the community broadcast licence application process for administrative purposes. Current arrangements regarding decisions to allocate a community broadcasting licence to a particular applicant remain unchanged.

I'm speaking today because I want to see Vox FM operating well into the future, bringing our community together and broadcasting our voices across the region. The Albanese government's budget in 2022 includes an additional $4 million per year of ongoing funding for the community broadcasting program from 2023-24, taking total annual funding for the program to over $20 million. With this bill the Albanese Labor government is helping to keep community radio alive for more than five million current listeners. For Vox FM and the Illawarra community this will be a welcome suite of reforms, and it is for this reason that I commend the bill to the House.

James Stevens (Sturt, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak in favour of the Broadcasting Services Amendment (Community Radio) Bill 2022, and I eagerly anticipate its passing because, as other members have outlined, we all have important community radio stations in our electorates that are providing excellent services for the dedicated listeners that they have.

Earlier, during 90-second statements, I talked about the very proud Italian community that I have in my electorate, and I made the point that the recent census confirmed, once again, that my electorate has the largest number of people of Italian ancestry of any electorate in the country. That very strong community is very well served by, in fact, two community radio stations in Italian language—Radio Italiana 531 and Radio Italia Uno. For my sins I am lucky enough to be interviewed on a semiregular basis on both of those stations, as are politicians of all persuasions in South Australia—state, federal and local.

It's really important to understand—and I was discussing this with the Italian ambassador yesterday morning—that one of the issues that we have with the great generation of migrants who came from countries like Italy after the Second World War is that they are now entering the twilight years of their lives and are particularly needing and availing themselves of the aged-care system. There are some significant language challenges with CALD communities—certainly in my electorate. The Italian language is the first language in many homes, and many people have elderly Italian parents or grandparents who perhaps live with them or are now in aged-care facilities, and who have always had Italian as their primary language. Sometimes with the onset of older age, and particularly with issues like dementia, some of those who did have English lose that English, and the Italian language, in the case of my community, becomes their only language again. It's very important that we've got and are resourcing services to support people who find themselves in that circumstance, so the two Italian language community radio stations provide that connection. It is a real significant access for those to be able to turn on the radio any day and listen to local broadcasting in Italian language, talking about issues that are contemporary to the day and geographically relevant to South Australia, rather than listening to other Italian language news services, which they do as well and it is very important that SBS and others provide, that might be giving them news from Italy and continental Europe. They want to stay connected to the South Australian community and hear about important issues and things that are happening locally, whilst equally having that service provided in the Italian language.

It's also very significant for when residents get to the point at which they can't necessarily participate physically in certain community activities, and in my Italian community, obviously, significant religious festas within the Catholic Church are very important to them, attending both the services and the associated festa when they celebrate the various saint feast days and other significant religious ceremonies. Both of the Italian language radio stations always make sure they broadcast from those events both the services themselves and the other formalities and of course commentary of what's happening through the day. It keeps a really important connection for those who are no longer in a position to physically attend, because of frailty, some of those events—that they have access to them.

As I point out, I've had the opportunity many times and always take the opportunity, when it's offered to me, to go in and be interviewed by them. My Italian is not suitably broadcast quality, but they're very good at translating—well, I wouldn't know, of course, so I assume, when what I say is being translated, it reflects accurately what I've said. It also gives an opportunity for those listening to call in, talkback, very interactive, and they have the opportunity to put questions to me, as a federal representative, as they do with many other Labor members that are equally as dedicated and make sure they take opportunities to go in there—state members, local government members. Those stations are a really great example from my community of community radio providing the type of service that is so treasured and critical in my community.

Other members have shared already in this debate exactly the same sorts of stories, and it really does underline the breadth of community connection that they provide. It obviously is very different, depending on the community. I've talked about a particular important language service that is provided through my community radio. Other country members in particular have talked about the services that are provided where it would just mean there was no access to that same sort of information if it weren't provided through community.

This bill is a very sensible set of minor measures that just give a lot more certainty to those radio stations. It puts them in a position where, with a lot of things that were really practice—and it never was intended by government to abandon that practice—this makes it a lot clearer in the legislation that any risks that they could have been nervous about regarding their licences, reapplying for them, having to compete for them et cetera are not going to be undertaken by government. There was never an intention to do that, as has been made clear, but this just changes the legislation to make sure that it removes all doubt.

We know how hard the people that run these types of organisations work. They are out raising money all the time because, of course, being community stations, they need to raise money. They get a lot of sponsorship from the community. They get a lot of support. They are staffed by volunteers. They tend to remunerate almost no-one in the business. A lot of people are very dedicated to being in there, to keep them ticking over. It's going to be a challenge for some into the future.

My Italian stations are a good example. They need people with the time, language capability and technical skills et cetera to be able to fill the seven-day-long time slots, and they need all the support they can get. They are very happy being self-sufficient, the ones I mentioned in my electorate. They get a lot of great support. But we need to make their life as easy as we can, and this certainly goes directly towards that. It takes away some uncertainty, giving them some security, not having them worried or anxious about these issues.

When they're having their monthly board meetings and talking about their challenges and opportunities, we don't want them to be consumed by or concerned about any issues on the longevity or future of the regulatory regime within which they operate. By making these changes, I'm very confident we'll achieve some greater peace of mind for the people who do excellent work in running these community radio stations. With that contribution, I commend the bill the House.

Luke Gosling (Solomon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Community radio is a grassroots institution that underpins our freedom of speech, which is so essential to our democracy. In the Northern Territory, as in other regional, rural and remote areas, it's the heart of local communities and the essential way that people learn about what's going on and connect with others. Sometimes, it's the only way to connect.

That's particularly true of emergencies, where people are so dependent on radio for information. But in all cases it fosters that sense of real connection. It helps people share local news, stories, voices and music. It celebrates the best of our diverse and multicultural society, and every week five million listeners tune in to 450 community owned and operated radio stations around the country. That is massive, when you consider that Sydney's 2GB, which is popular with some and influential, gets about 600,000 listeners a week. Community radio gets almost 10 times that audience. Community radio is especially significant for 1.4 million listeners from non-English-speaking backgrounds who listen to broadcasts in over 100 languages.

That's why I'm so very proud that on 13 May this year the Australian Labor Party committed to give the community broadcasting sector greater funding certainty. That was prior to the election. Now the ALP is in government and will deliver. That's exactly what we have done here. The government is giving the community broadcasting program an extra $4 million a year in ongoing funding, which will take annual funding to over $20 million per year.

We're also reviewing the long-term sustainability of the sector to help it thrive and endure into the future, and that is what this bill is all about. We're going to make the renewal process for community radio licences a non-competitive process, to cut the red tape for operators. That means the regulator, ACMA, will prioritise the current operator's renewal application over a proposed new radio service. This will give certainty to those existing licensees, while allowing ACMA the ability to refuse to renew a licence if the licensee's radio service is not meeting community needs. They'll need to be held accountable to their communities.

We want listeners around Australia to have continued access to high-quality and locally relevant news. Community broadcasters faced uncertainty under the former coalition government, which ignored their calls for stability and funding. After all community radio broadcasters did for Australians through the bushfires, floods and the COVID pandemic, all they got from the former coalition government was a big shrug. The former government ignored the sector's calls for COVID crisis funding during the pandemic. I'm happy to be corrected, but I'm informed that that is the case, and that is pretty deplorable. They ignored their calls for sustainable future funding. Anyone would think that they didn't want to hear the voices of Australian people in places like the Northern Territory. These were perhaps marginalised people, perhaps people who needed a voice, perhaps First Nations people that needed a voice and asked for a voice—that want a Voice. But they've been ignored, because 'others know better'.

In this case, instead of granting the usual four-year top-up funding, the coalition only gave the sector two years, which was due to run out next year. The committed funding was due to drop to around $17 million per year over the forward estimates. Those are real cuts in the funding for community radio. But why were they cutting funding from this vital sector that their own members have just said is so important to the cohesion of their community? Why were they doing it? It's hard to reconcile why any political organisation would seek to cut the voices of Australian people. Community radio exists precisely so that they have a voice. It assists them in being heard and celebrating their connection as part of our multicultural community.

The Labor government's budget commitment will maintain community broadcasting funding so that the sector can continue to support communities with local news and emergency broadcasting, which are so important all around the country. That's true of the Northern Territory—the Top End—as we go into cyclone season. Local content celebrating those local voices of Australian music is also so important.

In my electorate, in Darwin and Palmerston, we have high-quality and much-loved stations such as Territory FM 104.1, which is an amazing station. It's broadcast out of Charles Darwin University campus. On a Sunday night, they have a wonderful program where different multicultural organisations get to talk to people in their language, celebrate things that have been happening in the community and make sure that the members of that multicultural community are heard and understand what government, through broadcasting, is saying. Local community radio is the vehicle for important information, sometimes life-saving information, to get from subject matter experts to their communities.

We take our hats off to Territory FM. A survey in 2016 found that it reached 51 per cent of all people in Darwin, and it has very much been listened to widely over the years. In September it was rated the No. 1 radio station in Darwin overall for the 40- to 65-year-old demographic.

Darwin's 97 Seven FM is a Christian community radio station that's doing great work in Darwin and Palmerston, but their reach also extends past Humpty Doo.

Then we have First Nations Radio on 94.5 FM, which was formerly Radio Larrakia. It's an Aboriginal community radio station broadcasting from Darwin that reaches the township of Jabiru out in Kakadu. It provides a great service, and they're a culturally appropriate broadcaster. They observe Aboriginal cultural protocols, which underpin everything they do. I think a lot of people will be hearing on First Nations Radio about the developments down here around who is supporting a Voice for First Nations people and who is not.

For people in Arnhem Land there is Yolngu Radio. There are other stations that have Kriol language and provide that service so that people in the remotest areas of the Territory, including the homelands, can hear what's going on.

I also want to give shout-outs to CAAMA Radio in Alice Springs and to TEABBA, and to Katherine FM and Gove FM, all of whom keep their communities connected and informed. I want to give a big shout-out to all those community radio stations and those that I may have missed in the Northern Territory, who every day are making sure Territorians—whether you're a First Nations Territorian or whether you've just arrived from overseas—are understood. That's why it's so important that we protect and develop our community radio stations. They truly are the heart of communities across our country, and we on this side of the House support them very much.

Debate interrupted.