Tasmanian not getting a fair go with digital community radio

The Independent Member for Denison, Andrew Wilkie, has joined Vaughn Bennison from Print Radio Tasmania and Aeron Clark from Hobart’s only youth radio station, Edge Radio 99.3FM, to discuss the funding shortfall that threatens to leave Hobart as the only state capital city without digital community radio.

“In my six years representing the people of Denison I’ve had countless constituents raise with me the fact that Hobart does not have digital radio,” Mr Wilkie said. “I find this completely unacceptable, particularly as Hobart is the only state capital city in Australia that does not have digital radio, even on a trial basis.”

Mr Wilkie said there is an additional challenge facing the roll-out of digital radio. The development of community digital radio services is currently impeded by a funding shortfall arising from the May 2016 Federal Budget and a lack of support for the initial expansion of digital radio services beyond the current five mainland capital cities. Mr Wilkie is lobbying the Communications Minister Mitch Fifield to increase annual funding by $2.2m to $4.5m a year, to ensure the future of digital radio includes the diversity of content that only community radio provides and so many listeners enjoy.

Free-to-air digital radio is already on-air in the mainland capital cities and Mr Wilkie understands that the industry-based Digital Radio Planning Committee for Regional Australia, established at the request of the Minister in 2015, is considering planning principles that will clear the way for the extension of digital radio to Hobart from 2017. But without the additional funding support, community digital radio stations risk being left behind.

“I am very concerned to hear that the value of digital radio may be compromised by insufficient funding of community digital radio services,” Mr Wilkie said. “Hobart cannot be left off the map. I am very concerned that we may end up in a position that the future of digital radio does not include the diversity of content that is currently provided by community radio. Community radio stations like Edge Radio and Print Radio Tasmania, as well as Ultra106.5 and Hobart FM play a vital role in our community. The service they provide to communities simply cannot be lost.”
Andrew Wilkie, Independent MP for Denison