Paul Fletcher (Bradfield, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Government Services and the Digital Economy) Share 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.

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