Gai Brodtmann (Canberra, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Defence) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On lunchtime on Saturday I had the great pleasure of celebrating the 30th birthday of 1RPH Radio here in Canberra. 1RPH is radio for the print handicapped and it broadcasts not just to Canberra but also to Wagga and Junee.

An estimated 10 per cent of the Canberra region is print handicapped—that is about 30,000 people. So Radio 1RPH provides an invaluable service to that significant proportion of our population. As I said, that is not just to Canberra but also to Wagga and to Junee in the Capital Region.

The lunch was well attended by people who had been involved with the radio station for its last 30 years—volunteers, people who read the newspapers, people who read books and people who just help out on the front desk. It was great to see so many people there. I would like to acknowledge a number of people: Lorraine Lister, Robert Altimore, Ellen Mitchell, Janice Winter, Janelle Caiger, Sandra Purser and Karen Melton. Without them, the day-to-day running of 1RPH would be very challenging.

I would also like to thank everyone who was involved in doing the readings for the community here in Canberra and in the Capital Region. And, most importantly, I would like to wish 1RPH a very happy 30th birthday and all the best for the next 30 years and beyond.