Don Farrell (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise this evening to congratulate Adelaide’s Radyo Pilipino on celebrating its 30th anniversary, which occurred last year. Perhaps I can be forgiven for my tardiness as I only entered the Senate last year and gave my maiden speech in early September, so this is the first real opportunity that I have had to mark this occasion. At the turn of 1900s there were barely 700 Filipinos in Australia, with most outside of my home state of South Australia. However, since the early 1970s there has been a dramatic growth in the Filipino population. In South Australia alone the number has risen from barely 50 in 1971 to almost 6,000 today. They play a vital role in my state and work in a variety of areas, from the law through to engineering, teaching, medicine, health and hospitals, architecture, food and hospitality, and a number of trades. Of course, many are mothers who care for their children full time. As the number has increased, so too has the need for these most welcome people to have their own radio station, and this came into being in 1978 with the founding of Radyo Pilipino. The birth of Radyo Pilipino owes a great deal to the feasibility study by Dr Dante Juanta and a fellow community volunteer, Mr Ramon Cruz, who had technical knowledge on the use of radio mixers and consoles.

The maiden broadcast was aired on 18 June 1978 over radio 5UV through the University of Adelaide. It was a 30-minute program called Oras Pilipino, broadcast at seven o’clock on Sunday mornings, and was the first Filipino language program in Australia. In 1980 the program started to broadcast from its present radio home, 5EBI 103.1 FM at 10 Byron Place, Adelaide.

In the early days, program presenters used any broadcast material they could lay their hands on, including private collections of records and tapes. Interestingly, the Filipino news that they provided to listeners in Adelaide and to outlying areas reached by the program was obtained from Manila newspapers brought in by Filipinos touring South Australia and by Filipinos returning from short holidays in the Philippines.

Dr Juanta and Mr Cruz were soon joined by other volunteer broadcasters. To equip announcers with knowledge about Australian law and technical skills in radio broadcasting, the volunteers went through the radio operator training programs offered by 5EBI-FM. Some stayed active in broadcasting and others drifted away because of jobs interstate or other commitments and interests. Those who stayed took turns in producing and presenting weekly programs. The programs are prepared judiciously and delivered sensitively by the producers and local presenters. Community volunteers assist with gathering news, including local and international Philippine news. Radyo Pilipino is particularly grateful to Celia Guillermo, Cora Juanta and Marita Macalalad for providing this essential service.

Listeners get regular news from the Philippines and, whenever possible and appropriate, Philippine visitors staying in Adelaide, such as diplomats, government officials, businesspeople, educators and other professionals, are invited onto the program. Community announcements are constantly aired to keep people abreast of activities by various community groups including cultural, social, religious, health and sporting organisations. Interviews are held and snippets of Philippine history, including extracts from literature including poetry, folktales, proverbs and legends, all come in handy on special occasions. On the personal side, family members are greeted and complimented on birthdays, weddings, wedding anniversaries and the birth of children.

The success of Radyo Pilipino lies in the faith and support of the people it serves. Listener feedback is constantly sought, and this assists in gauging community interest and program quality in terms of content, ethics, balance and diversity. Radyo Pilipino has long-established links through consultation and exchange of information with Australian and Philippine government agencies, as well as with non-government entities, on issues relating to the general interests and welfare of Filipinos in Australia. Radyo Filipino has maintained direct access to the services of the South Australian Office of Multicultural and Ethnic Affairs, the Australian immigration office in Adelaide, the Department of Social Security migrant health unit, the Commission on the Ageing, the South Australian Migrant Resource Centre, the Multicultural Communities Council of South Australia, Ethnic Broadcasters Incorporated, the Commission on Filipinos Overseas and the Philippine Embassy, Canberra. Four members of the executive committee have also served terms on the board of management of EBI: Mrs Amy Bartjes, Dr Dante Juanta, Mrs Miriam Cocking and Mrs Norma Hennessy.

The executive committee of Radyo Pilipino Incorporated embarked on historical documentation in 2007 outside the broadcast studios. Three historical records, now referred to as A Trilogy of Historical Documentation Projects, about migration, settlement and the contribution of Filipinos in the cultural, social, educational and economic development of South Australia, were produced and published. The first was a cast-iron Filipino memorial plaque installed on 8 December 2007 in the Migration Museum of South Australia, at Kintore Avenue, Adelaide. It was in remembrance of, and in tribute to, Filipino pioneers and migrants who contributed to the life of the state their respective industry, service, education and culture. The historical marker was officially launched by the Attorney-General and Minister for Multicultural Affairs, the Hon. Michael Atkinson.

On 21 June 2008, the second element in the trilogy was launched by the Lieutenant Governor of South Australia and Chairman of the South Australian Multicultural and Ethnic Affairs Commission, Mr Hieu Van Le. This consisted of three pieces: a 130-page narrative book titled Radyo Pilipino—30 Years of Service in Adelaide, South Australia 1978-2008, edited by Dr Juanta, Norma Hennessy and Erlinda Calabio; a 20-minute documentary film in DVD format with the same title; and an audio cassette tape with seven original Filipino songs, with lyrics and music by Benjamin Juanta. The production and launch of the three-piece package was essentially a product of collaboration and a team effort by the officers and announcers of Radyo Pilipino and a significant number of community volunteers.

The president and the secretary of Radyo Pilipino were tasked by the executive committee with the third and final part of the trilogy. Their effort led to the production of another book, entitled Of Guts, Grit and Dreams—Early Filipino Migration Experiences in South Australia 1950-1989. The Governor of South Australia, His Excellency Kevin Scarce AC, formally launched the book on 15 November 2008 to an enthusiastic audience including members and officers of ethnic communities and non-government agencies, religious dignitaries, members of federal and state parliaments, and immigration and city council officials.

The book was the result of a survey conducted by Dr Juanta and Mrs Hennessy on early migration experiences of Filipinos in South Australia post the Second World War, 1950 to 1989. A questionnaire and interviews drew from participants their recollections of experiences when they first arrived in Australia, about subsequent encounters during settlement and about life there today. Australia was apparently the preferred country for most respondents to this survey, who described it as the land of opportunity—although many of their children under the age of eight wrongly assumed they were flying to America. One woman visited a post office within hours of her arrival in Adelaide and sent the following telegram back to her parents Manila: ‘Australia is beautiful! No pollution, everywhere clean!’

Typical of the first impressions experienced by early arrivals was that many were apparently amazed that so many Australian males were called ‘Mike’, until they better understood the Australian accent and discovered they were called ‘mate’. In the main, the vast majority of Filipinos made the adjustment to the Australian way of life, although for some it took some time. One 16-year-old Filipino girl, who arrived in Adelaide when she was six, wrote in a school essay in 1982 about what it means to be a Filipino living in Australia. I would like to congratulate all those people who have been associated with Radyo Pilipino. (Time expired)