Tony Pasin (Barker, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Infrastructure and Transport) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak about community radio in Millicent. Community radio stations across the country play an important role, providing a voice for communities, particularly in rural, regional and remote areas where access to commercial radio stations and genuinely local news may be sparse. One such radio station is 5THE FM in Millicent, which broadcasts to the surrounding areas, including Beachport, Southend, Furner and Hatherleigh, just to name a few.

From humble beginnings in the mid-1980s, when $25,000 was raised from cake stalls over a four-year period to purchase the equipment needed to broadcast, the first test transmission was conducted in May 1987. The old Millicent railway station was transformed into a different sort of station and now broadcasts contemporary and specialist music, multicultural programs and community information 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Unfortunately, the station has recently experienced some difficult times. Those difficult times led to the transmitter being turned off in late 2022 due to a loss of its broadcasting licence. With a brand-new skill based board, chaired by Mr David Walshaw, a temporary 12-month licence was granted in July last year. I visited the station over the weekend to congratulate the committee and volunteers for being recently awarded a five-year community radio broadcasting licence by the Australian Communications and Media Authority. This is a testament to the new board and presenters—their dedication, their professionalism—and I wish them all the very best for the future.