Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party, Shadow Minister for International Development and the Pacific) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The coalition recognises the important, essential and critical role that community radio broadcasting plays throughout Australia, especially in regions. When in government, we provided a funding increase of an additional $4 million per annum over two years in the 2021-22 budget. This was on top of the existing funding of a little over $16 million per annum which we continued to provide from 2021-22, bringing the total yearly funding to just over $20 million for those two years.

The coalition government 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. I know that the late Paul Neville, the former member for Hinkler, would certainly have spoken in this debate in his time in parliament because there was no greater champion of broadcasting rules of community radio and community broadcasting than the late Paul Neville. I suppose there are two great disappointments in mentioning this—that is, the fact that Paul Neville did not receive his Order of Australia Medal while he was alive—he received it posthumously—and, also, the fact that he did not carry 'honourable' in front of his name after his political career or, indeed, during it. There are many people who are bestowed the title of 'honourable' and it is a thing that probably only politicians regard highly these days. If ever there was an honourable member of parliament, it was the late Mr Neville. He was never a minister, more's the pity. He was never given the great privilege of serving in an outer ministry or a cabinet, more's the pity. But he gave such remarkable service to this parliament over so many years. We remember him, we respect him, and we honour him always.

I am glad the communications minister is in the Federation Chamber for this debate. I wish her well in her role. She and I entered the parliament in 2010. I have the greatest respect for the member for Greenway. I also admire the way she came to my electorate and said she is going to do what she can about mobile phone technology. We went to a place not far from West Wyalong. We also ventured on to a place further west to talk about what we could do together, in a bipartisan way, about mobile communications and communications in general. As I say, I earnestly and honestly wish her all the best in her role because regional Australia needs the very best communication services. She'll disagree with me, but, when we took over in 2013, the NBN was a bit of a mess. It was. We did what we could to make sure that we made the best of what was there at the time. We also funded 900 mobile phone towers, installed them in fact, and promised another 400, which, due to contract arrangements et cetera, will eventually be delivered on this government's watch. But I wish the member for Greenway well in her ministerial responsibilities.

I do community radio a lot. Some might say I have a good head for radio, but, indeed, I talk a lot on the Sounds of the Mountains in Tumut. It's not in my electorate; it's in the member for Eden Monaro's electorate. She knows that I've got a fortnightly spot. I don't go on there and be partisan—I do not. I go on there and talk about all of the things that are important in our area. Whilst it mainly covers the area in Eden Monaro, such as Tumut, the Snowy Valleys, Tumbarumba, even into the member for Indi's electorate, through Corryong and the Upper Murray area—

A division having been called in the House of Representati ves—

Sitting suspended from 12:02 to 12:1 3

As I was saying before the division in the House of Representatives, I speak every fortnight on Sounds of the Mountains, which operates out of Tumut. I speak with David Eisenhauer, who needs recognition not just in this motion but for the work he did during the Black Summer bushfires to keep people informed, to keep the community up to date and to keep Australians alive. David, like me, spent much of his youth in Junee, and he still goes back there every year to MC the annual show. He still contributes mightily to the communities outside his now home town. That shows the measure of the man. Yesterday he and I both, before we got on air and whilst on air, were discussing—well, it was this week—the 80th birthday of Yvonne Braid, who was the face of Riverina radio, Wagga Wagga's 2WG, for many, many years. She started in the front office and worked her way up to the managerial role. Yvonne lit up a room when she walked in. She was not necessarily on air, but she indeed served that station, 2WG, so very well when it was owned locally. Like many commercial radio stations, they're now operating out of capital cities, but, back in the halcyon days of radio, the 1970s and 1980s, when 2WG was king of the airwaves, the likes of Jeff O'Brien and Peter Mahoney and award-winning journalist Damian Ryan were behind the mic, broadcasting to their known universe. They were heady days, and Yvonne Braid was working her way up the chain to that great managerial position she occupied for so many years.

But there's not only Sounds of the Mountains in Tumut; there's TEM-FM in Temora, which I speak on regularly; Valley FM in Forbes and Parkes, in the north of my Riverina electorate; 945 Gold FM in West Wyalong; 2AAA-FM and Wagga's Life FM in Wagga Wagga; 2YYY Radio in Young; and PHFM in Peak Hill. There are many more, but they're the ones that spring readily to mind. I know 2AAA-FM in my hometown received support through the previous coalition government with a $9,373 grant under the Stronger Communities Program to install a disabled access ramp in its Young Street studio. That might seem a lot of money, but for that community radio station it meant the world of difference because it meant that those presenters and indeed those people who were going to be interviewed could gain better access to that hillside studio.

The 2AAA-FM website says the station is the 'brainchild' of Stuart Carter:

2AAA-FM had its beginnings in June 1978 when a handful of people gathered to discuss the idea of establishing Wagga Wagga's own Community Radio Station. … Stuart presented the group with a working paper entitled "Community Radio IS People".

That 'IS' is capitalised because he wanted to emphasise that it's all about people, and that's indeed what community radio is all about.

After a licence hearing in October 1980, 2AAA-FM was granted a licence by the Australian Broadcasting Tribunal (now called the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA).

The first official broadcast of 2AAA-FM was on Friday July 31st, 1981—

a red-letter day for Wagga Wagga.

It ran for 54 hours from Friday till Monday.

In those very embryonic years, 2AAA transmitted from temporary premises in the Australian Arcade on Fitzmaurice Street. It relocated to its own premises on the corner of Young Street and Coleman Street in November 1982.

I referred earlier to Sounds of the Mountains. It is a not-for-profit—just like so many are—community radio station. It covers the Snowy Valleys and Cootamundra-Gundagai Regional Council areas—that is a council about to be de-amalgamated, thank goodness, but that is an area of their broadcast listening area that I represent—and, as I said earlier, goes into north-east Victoria. It operates 24 hours a day and is staffed by a combination of paid and volunteer locals. Volunteers make up—wait for it—80 per cent of the team.

I know, Deputy Speaker Stevens, how fondly you spoke of your own radio stations in your part of the world in your contribution last night. I have great memories and great experiences in more recent times of working with community radio people to bring about better outcomes for the people I serve, and I know you do too.

The radio station is the locally recognised electronic medium for the immediate dissemination and distribution of emergency information. Without them—I said this before; I wasn't overegging it—people in emergencies, particularly in fire emergencies, would die if they did not have those signals, those alerts, those updates and that information which is given on an instantaneous basis, whether it's bushfires, floods or severe thunderstorm warnings. Particularly in regional areas, those thunderstorm warnings are so important for farmers to get their sheep into shearing sheds if there's going to be a cold snap or torrential rain. Getting stock to safety is something which I suppose city folk don't probably ever consider. You know you're in the bush when you click on the radio station and you hear that people are being urged to get their sheep indoors. You know you're in country Australia. It's one of those totally Australian moments. It's fantastic.

Sounds of the Mountains dates back to 2001, when the Tumut Youth Council—and good on them—made a request for a community-based radio station and a steering committee was formed. At the time, David Eisenhauer joined the steering committee to coordinate the building, the engineering and the general compliance-based and local community-based implementation of the licence. It began full transmission on 3 August 2003.

I mentioned Valley FM—it's situated on Parkes Road in Forbes. It covers Parkes, Forbes, Condobolin and Eugowra. Those last two communities I just mentioned are so beset by floods at the moment. I've been in two war zones and never seen the devastation that I did in Eugowra just the other week. It was quite extraordinary. But Condo, of course, is going through its own situation at the moment, with the Lachlan River having burst its banks and causing mayhem and destruction and despair and heartache for the people in what is the very geographical centre of New South Wales. Valley FM also covers Bogan Gate, a little community where there is actually a monument to Breaker Morant in the local park; Trundle, which is the home of Australia's widest main street and has the annual ABBA festival; as well as Tullamore, Tottenham, Peak Hill, Alectown, Bedgerabong and others. It sounds like 'I've Been Everywhere'. But that's what radio stations do. That's what community radio does.

I'm glad that this bill, the Broadcasting Services Amendment (Community Radio) Bill 2022, has been brought to the House, because anything that the government can do to improve broadcasting services—indeed, to improve the lives and lot of people who rely on those radio broadcasts—is to be commended. We said when Labor came back into power in May that if there was good legislation, if there were good motions, if there were good bills, then we would support them. That's why we do support this particular legislation being brought to the House.

Going back to Valley FM, the nine people who run that station meet monthly. The committee is made up of president Greg Whitworth, vice-president Gill Taylor, secretary Jayne Whitworth, treasurer Joe Sydney and coordinator Kevin Dwyer, who's also an announcer and life member. I mention those and I mention the other life members of the station—Don McGuire, Bob Grant and Dawn Parker—because they deserve to have their names mentioned. They deserve to have their names recorded in Hansard. They don't expect it but it's something that is nice, something that's appropriate. They keep the airwaves going, just like TEM-FM in Temora, which covers Temora and Ariah Park. I've had several interviews with Sandy Koch, which are always interesting. They're very wide-ranging interviews. They're usually supposed to take about 10 minutes and they take half an hour. Sandy's fantastic, as are all the other volunteers in these community radio stations. It's executive committee is made up of chairman Ken Davis, secretary Robina Moore, financial director Colin McCrone, with board members Mark Ribbons, Jean Groth and Hilda Bird. I say to those people: thank you. Thank you for the service that you provide. Thank you for keeping the airwaves rich with your announcements, rich with your voices, rich with your presence and rich with your input, because community radio matters. It is about community. When we've lost so many of our media organisations to outside influences and when even the journalists who come in and the people who work for them are not locals, community radio is. It's all about community; it's all about localism.

Brian Mitchell (Lyons, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to 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.

Rebekha Sharkie (Mayo, Centre Alliance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

He loves country—and western!

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

Thank you, Member for Mayo. I think that could be the cause of divisions, but anyway!

And, of course, there's the station legend, John Hay. He's got the John Laws sort of velvet voice on the microphone. I'll give a shout-out while I'm here—although it's not in my electorate—to the University of Tasmania's student radio station, Edge FM, which has given many young journalists and student politicians the ability to cut their teeth and learn the ropes before heading out to wonderful careers across Tasmania and the nation. They like to give us professional politicians a hard time, which I think is terrific. We get the hard questions, and we should be prepared to answer them. Edge FM do a terrific job out there at UTas.

What's important for those of you who are not lucky enough to visit Tasmania more often—and it's very sad if you're not—is that all of these community stations are accessible online. I strongly urge all members present to tune into these great stations to listen to the wealth of knowledge and community that I enjoy representing down in Tasmania. These stations are the heart of the communities they broadcast to. They provide a quality service to the community, promote local events and are there for people when it counts, including during times of fire, flood and everything in between. I love jumping on air with the local hosts and DJs, inflicting my own musical choices on them and playing the latest hits and all the classics. I tried to play 'Droving Woman', the Kev Carmody classic, recently. It goes for about 10 minutes. It's a fantastic song, but it is a long one. I also communicate about my work in Lyons and deliver vital information about what is going on in Canberra and across Australia. I know that this is a sentiment shared across the House. The member for Mayo is about to get up, and I'm sure she'll extol the virtues of community stations in her electorate. We're all here to support our community stations.

An immense amount of work has gone into this bill. It's been developed in consultation with government and key industry stakeholders. I thank the Minister for Communications, Michelle Rowland, for her work in putting this bill before the House and ensuring that it's the best it can be for the benefit of community broadcasters and their listeners. I would like to take a moment to thank her staff and those of the department who work immensely hard behind the scenes for us and for the benefit of this great country and the people in it. They often don't get the recognition they deserve for the technical work they do in putting these bills together, but it's really important. It knits these programs together. Community broadcasting wouldn't be in the shape it is in now, or in the future, without people looking after the details in bills like that. It's the staff who do that. They often don't get the recognition they deserve for the work they put in.

I commend the bill to the House, and I urge you all, and anybody listening to this broadcast—maybe after I've finished speaking and after the member for Mayo has finished speaking—to tune in to your local community broadcaster.

Rebekha Sharkie (Mayo, Centre Alliance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak in support of the Broadcasting Services Amendment (Community Radio) Bill 2022. Community broadcasting plays an incredibly vital service in my electorate of Mayo. According to the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia, approximately 5.3 million Australians listen to local news, community information, music and talkback every week on more than 500 community broadcast stations across the country, two-thirds of which are in regional and rural Australia.

I'd like to give a shout-out to some of mine. We're talking about, down the south coast, Happy FM, Fleurieu FM and Alex FM, at Goolwa. Moving further up, we have Tribe FM. They're based at Willunga and they share the license with McLaren Vale's Triple Z. Then we have Lofty radio, based in the Adelaide Hills. I'd also like to give a shout-out to one that stretches—sort of leaks—out of its licence area, and that's Coast FM. Even though it is based in Glandore, which I think is probably in the member for Boothby's electorate, the signal goes far. Coast FM was where I got my start in community radio back in 1992 or 1993, a long time ago and, that's the thing, it's a great training ground for young people—I was a young person back then—and it's a great for retired people as well. What I see across most of my community radio stations is you have older people and younger people all coming together and sharing and enjoying their time together and communicating with their community, whether it be talk back or radio. I actually had a country music program—an award-winning program, I might just say—and that's why I had to correct the member for Lyons: country and western are actually two kinds of music. It is really important and it has such a variety on community radio that you don't get on commercial stations.

I think a lot of people don't realise that community radio presenters and producers do all the work themselves. If you are in a commercial radio setting, all you are doing is pressing buttons all day and reading out essentially the script you are given. Whereas in community radio, it is far more fluid, far more dynamic because it is all about what that individual programmer is doing and how they are connecting with our community. Really, anything goes on community radio, and I love my community radio stations in Mayo.

Community radio plays such an important part in the lives of so many Australians. I think we particularly felt that in Mayo during the bushfires in December 2019. It was our community radio stations that were providing real on-the-ground knowledge. Of course, we have the ABC as well but this is particularly prevalent and important for those who don't have other forms of communication. During the bushfires we lost towers and, really, it was essentially the radio only. I've been remiss; I have missed one radio station in my electorate on Kangaroo Island—that is, KIX FM. KIX FM, during the bushfires, were extraordinary in sharing information with the community.

So aside from what's in my electorate, back in 2020 I ended up driving to Canberra because there were limited flights, at times no flights, and I wanted some staff to come with me. I have to say it was community radio that shared the journey with me on the drive over here. When I am back in my community, like the Speaker, I take time to go and spend time in my local community radio stations, share with them what is happening in this place. It's great when I'm stopped by young people in particular who say they learn a lot more about the parliament and what happens in here after those interviews, so it's great to be able to sit down and have those chats It is also really good for local small businesses because they often don't have a huge amount to spend on advertising whereas becoming a sponsor of their local community radio station is affordable and they are directly connecting with other locals.

I would like to thank the government for the additional $4 million they have announced in the budget. It's a really welcome amount of funding. What we need to do is ensure there is sustainability in community radio station networks because we have seen in my electorate the loss of Hills Radio. Even though the population has increased, we have not seen an increase in a number of community radio stations. The northern part of my electorate could certainly do with its own community radio. I have two radio stations that are on temporary licences in my electorate—ZZZ FM sharing with Tribe FM; they share 50-50 the time together, 3½ days each—so when moving over to permanent licences, we need to look at each community radio station and its needs individually because, from my understanding, for those stations it's a happy arrangement and they have been able to make it work really well.

I don't want them to be forced into a certain licensing arrangement, or even having a permanent licence and perhaps having to merge. It's really important that we nurture community radio. I don't know about other community radio stations, but, really, most of the time, these radio stations are run out of older houses, older buildings or older demountables. Just getting the resources together to be able to afford a desk and soundproofing, let alone having turntables, CD players or digital equipment—it's incredibly expensive. So having more resources and grants available to provide community radio stations with improved technology is critical. When I first started, there were two record turntables. They were still relatively new and exciting. But we had the old ABC desk that was quite geriatric in its application. I'm sure we can do a lot more in this place. It really is pocket change when we look at the budget with respect to sharing some money with community radio. They really do get good bang for their buck, because it's run entirely by volunteers.

This is an excellent bill. I give a shout out to my local community radio station, and to those hundreds of community radio stations right across Australia, you are an excellent training ground. We've had so many stars in radio on commercial channels who started their life in community radio. More power to community radio. I hope it's a medium that can grow, strengthen, prosper and flourish in the decades to come.

Patrick Gorman (Perth, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Five million listeners every week tune into our community radio stations. That's 450 stations across the country doing wonderful community service, be it in times of crisis—during COVID, bushfires, floods—connecting multicultural communities or providing that diversity that doesn't exist in the large commercial networks. That's why I'm so pleased to be speaking on this bill, which gives further support and certainty to our community radio stations.

At the moment, the renewal process for licences for our community radio stations sometimes gives unnecessary stress or uncertainty. This bill delivers the certainty they need. It also makes sure that we no longer have that fear of the renewal process being a competitive process, which prevents radio stations from making some of the long-term investments and plans they need. It also clarifies the powers of ACMA to make sure that, when they're issuing new licenses, they can do that with authority. Third, it ensures that there's flexibility for ACMA. If they need to issue a temporary licence or provide flexibility when they're looking at how to handle those licences, they have that power.

Again, the bill clarifies the power of ACMA and the discretion it has to limit the number of temporary community broadcast licensees that can share a particular frequency. There's nothing worse than driving and listening to your favourite station and having a level of interference. Again, this bill protects from that happening. It's backed in by an additional $4 million per year of funding to make sure that we have more investment in our community radio stations. The member for Mayo so brilliantly outlined how well they do with so little funds. We all know that our community radio stations make a couple of dollars stretch a very long way. They're not just driven by a profit motive; they're driven by the motive of ensuring they provide an essential community service.

I want to pay tribute to the Minister for Communications, who is a very strong advocate for community radio, which is demonstrated by the fact that she has chosen to be here for so much of this debate. She has also fought for additional funding for community radio, and the first piece of legislation she is putting through this parliament is backing our community radio sector.

As many have done before me, I want to talk about the wonderful community radio stations in my electorate. The biggest community radio station in Western Australia is RTRFM, which was founded about 40 years ago by students at the University of Western Australia. Why is it RTR? That's because they thought it was a pirate radio station, so 'Arty, arrgh!' FM was founded by the students of the University of Western Australia. Now, some 40 years on, they run more than 50 different programs every single week. They are a key partner of the Perth Festival, the biggest arts festival in Western Australia. They are funded by the community, and each year their radiothon brings in thousands of dollars to provide this essential service.

I'd encourage anyone who wants to see why this station is loved so much to tune into 92.1 FM or go online at rtrfm.com.au. People in my community do love this station. It's based on Beaufort Street in Perth. It is part of the community. They are constantly holding community events. I was surprised to learn that their average listener tunes in for 11.6 hours a week. That's dedication. They have 42,000 people listening to their breakfast program every single day. Over each month, 262,000 people tune in to listen to RTRFM and, when it comes to the music that they choose, 73 per cent of the music that RTR plays is from local Western Australian artists. It is the launching pad for so many bands and musicians in Western Australia. To the team at RTR, I say: thank you for that.

They recently did a social impact study which showed:

RTRFM is one of the main voices for arts and culture in WA …

It also showed:

85% say listening to RTRFM makes them feel like part of a community.

This lessens that isolation and distance that has become too common in our community and makes sure that we have stronger communities, that we connect people and that people feel that, when they call in, they're actually talking to a friend on air.

I've been proud to support RTRFM through the Stronger Communities Program, which has given them new performance spaces for artists. I've been pleased to attend there with the now Leader of the House to talk to them about investing in the arts. I'm sure that sometime in this term of government I will be able to get the Minister for Communications in for a chat. I've also been pleased to attend In The Pines with the now Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese. I encourage all members, if they find themselves on the West Coast, to visit RTRFM. I'm sure they will be very happy to have any member of this parliament in for a chat. I want to give a shout out to chair, James Hall; general manager, Simon Miraudo; and presenter and wonderful part of the Perth community, Danae Gibson. I even learnt yesterday that a member of the press gallery, Sarah Ison, is a former volunteer at RTRFM. Again, this shows that these community radio stations across the country are the training ground for some of the best journalists in this country. I also note that community radio is well served by Amanda Copp from the Community Radio Network, based here in the press gallery.

In conclusion, I want to note some of the wonderful Western Australian community radio stations, including Radio Fremantle at 107.9 FM and Curtin Radio at 100.1 FM, which plays everyone's favourite classics and is definitely worth tuning into if you want to go back a few decades in time and listen to some wonderful classic music. I also want to note 6EBA FM world radio, based in North Perth in my electorate, and 89.7FM, the sound of the northern suburbs. They are all wonderful community radio stations that I know want to see us in this place pass this legislation to show how much we support them.

Tony Zappia (Makin, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I join with other speakers who have made absolutely clear the vital service that is provided by community radio stations right around the country. It is a service that, as the member for Perth has again quite rightly pointed out, is provided by some 450 stations around the country. Five million people tune in every week to listen to it and, importantly, services are provided in about a hundred different languages. The Albanese Labor government clearly understands the importance of the service, and I commend the minister, who is with us today, for the allocation of an additional $4 million towards the provision of community radio across the country.

My association with community radio goes back decades. I was associated with the establishment of 5PBA-FM on 89.7 in Salisbury many years ago. That station is still going strong, and while I'm on my feet I commend Denise Guest who, for many, many years, until she passed away, was the station manager out there. A few years later her daughter Angela took over and provided a wonderful service for the local community. It's a service that I'm frequently asked to join in with, and I've appeared on many programs there. Indeed, I'm familiar with not only the presenters, but with the range of different programs that are provided to the wider community.

With respect to the services more broadly, I will just say this: community radio does a couple of very critical things for us as a country and for us as individuals. Firstly, as others have quite rightly pointed out, it provides a wonderful training platform for people who want to make a career out of broadcasting or similar types of skills and similar professions. Secondly, it also provides services at critical times to local communities—in particular, services for the 100 different languages that I referred to earlier. As a frequent guest on the Italian radio stations in Adelaide—Radio Italia Uno 87.6 and Radio Italiana 531 on the AM band—I know how many people of the local Italian community listen to that station to get information about government services and the like. Importantly, it also provides people with the ability to tune into information that is not generally broadcast on the mainstream radio stations. And I think that is critically important, particularly when it comes to local communities.

Again, as has also been raised with regard to this legislation, one of the issues we often talk about in this parliament is media diversity. I believe, through community radio stations, we're able to at least do something about trying to ensure there is no absolute control of media in this country, and those five million listeners each week are listeners that might otherwise have only tuned into the commercial radio stations, which are dominated by certain players in the industry sector. Again, community radio does all of that.

There are a couple of issues that I've noted during my time and my association with community radio. The first issue is that, generally, they're only able to access what I call the extreme bandwidths, the ones on the very edges, and so their reception is not terribly good outside of their immediate location. That's something I would like to see addressed because I know that some of those stations try to have a reach that goes beyond where they are broadcasting from, but, unfortunately, they quite often find it difficult. The other issue for community groups is that trying to get a license has often proved very difficult. If you put the licenses up there, just as a broad auction based scheme, then it means those with money are more likely to get the licenses than those without money. Again, I think that creates problems for smaller groups who have a wonderful service and have the best intentions at heart, but simply can't get a license.

I don't want to hold up the debate any longer than necessary, but I think this legislation goes a long way to making sure that the licences are administered and issued in a much fairer way. The whole management and process of getting the licenses is streamlined and that will make it so much easier because I know, from my discussions with the management committees of the radio stations that I'm familiar with, that sometimes that can be cumbersome. This process, as outlined in this legislation, will simplify the whole process for everybody. I commend the legislation to the House.

Michelle Rowland (Greenway, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Communications) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the members who have contributed to the debate on the Broadcasting Services Amendment (Community Radio) Bill 2022. The government recognises the crucial role that the community broadcasting sector plays in connecting, informing and empowering local communities, particularly in our regions and among multicultural and First Nations communities. Over five million Australians each week rely on the diversity of programming offered by community radio. We want all Australians to have access to a vibrant range of news media as well as relevant local media, where no one voice dominates political and social debates. Alongside our national broadcasters, commercial broadcasters and subscription broadcasters, community radio services provide much-needed diversity. They keep communities safe, engaged and informed.

The bill will make amendments to parts 3, 6 and 6A of the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 to provide greater certainty to broadcasters and support listener access to high-quality and diverse community radio services. There have been recent issues related to legal proceedings and the practical application of legislative provisions around community broadcasting licensing. These unintended outcomes have the potential to reputationally impact the community broadcasting sector. The six measures included in this bill are designed to address these concerns. Their successful passage through parliament will have positive impacts for community broadcasters, listeners and the regulator, the Australian Communications and Media Authority. These reforms are consistent with the government's commitment to support the sustainability of the community broadcasting sector and better reflect its important role in the diversity of Australia's media and broadcasting environment. They are an important first step towards increasing access to high-quality, locally relevant news, information and content for all Australians.

In recognition of the importance of community broadcasting across Australia, the government has committed funding in the federal budget and commenced a review into the sustainability of the sector. The budget 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 per year. The review will identify further opportunities to improve the sector's sustainability in consultation with community broadcasters. This will inform future broader-ranging measures which will examine what a modern community radio service should look like. This process could lead to more detailed regulatory changes in future.

This bill demonstrates the government's continuing commitment to facilitating a regulatory environment in which community broadcasters can operate with ease. I commend the bill to the House.

Question agreed to.

Bill read a second time.

Ordered that this bill be reported to the House without amendment.

Sitting suspended from 12:57 to 16:00