The Federal Government unveiled the details of the Federal Budget overnight and despite the ongoing pressures of the Commit To Community Radio campaign to urge Communications Minister Senator Stephen Conroy to address the $1.4 million shortfall in funding needed to ensure community broadcasters’ survival as they make the migration for digital, with the unveiling of the Budget came some heavy news.
The funding shortfall was not addressed in the Federal Budget and despite ongoing backing provided to state-funded radio services ABC and SBS, the much-needed $1.4 figure was absent, meaning up to 37 community digital radio stations now face potential extermination as they face tough decisions about their future.
Following on from his opinion piece addressing how the lack of funding meant the lack of a secure future, Community Broadcasting Association of Australia (CBAA) President, Adrian Basso, said that the Government had jeopardised the future of community digital radio.
“This is a disappointing outcome for all the communities who rely on community radio to provide the information, opinion and music commercial stations and the national broadcasters can’t or don’t,” said Mr Basso in a press release. “Tonight’s budget flies in the face of the commitment made to provide stations with affordable access to the digital platform.”
“We’ll now be consulting with all digital community radio services on their future. A 40 per cent annual operational shortfall in funding is obviously very significant and tough decisions will have to be made that could leave some communities without their community digital radio services,” Mr Basso added.
The CBAA is seeking urgent talks with Minister Stephen Conroy to discuss the implications of the budget and options for community radio. Even after receiving a large consensus of public supporters, the Commit To Community Radio campaign, and its over 42,000 signatories appeared to fall deaf upon the Minister’s ears. “Tonight’s budget flies in the face of the commitment made to provide stations with affordable access to the digital platform.” – Adrian Basso, CBAA President
Following an open letter addressed to the minister from international music star Gotye, urging him to address the $1.4 million shortfall and aid community broadcasters, Minister Conroy’s representatives issued a response essentially saying that community radio should be funding itself.
“The primary source of funding for community broadcasting, however, has always been and should continue to be drawn from sponsorship and donations from within those communities, independent of government support,” read a statement from Minister Conroy’s office.
“The government is proud to augment this funding, but it should never be seen as a substitute for independent community-sourced revenue,” concluded the statement, pointing towards theGovernment’s rescue of AMRAP through providing funding at the 11th hour.
The Commit To Community Radio’s efforts were to address the necessity of the Government to “augment this funding”, noting that $1.4 million was a relatively meagre sum compared to the millions that the Budget has allocated towards public broadcasters, with $99m going to the ABC and $30m towards SBS.
Extracts from the Budget portfolio demonstrate that ABC is receiving $3.7m towards its digital radio services while SBS has been allocated $2m, as seen below.
“The Australian public wants community radio to have a future. The government says it is committed as well, yet this budget does not properly deliver on that commitment,” said CBAA President Mr Basso. “For a government that says it’s committed to media diversity, it’s done a pretty good job of stifling it.” – Adrian Basso, CBAA President
“Addressing the mere $1.4million shortfall is all that is required to keep community digital radio services up and running… For a government that says it’s committed to media diversity, it’s done a pretty good job of stifling it.”
Community radio is important for providing media diversity, said Mr Basso, pointing towards essential services that include “specialist music, Indigenous media, multicultural and ethnic language programs, religious, educational and youth services, print disability reading services, and community access programs.”
According to a McNair Ingenuity study last year, 1 in 4 Australian radio listeners turn to community radio stations every week for programming and free-to-air digital services not typically provided by commercial radio.
By contrast, the Federal Budget has meant good news for public broadcasters ABC and SBS, which received around $99m and $30m respectively.
The ABC’s new funding, as Radio Today details, will see $59.4 m going towards news and current affairs, including the hiring of more journalists to cover regional areas and introduce “youth-focused current affairs programming,” while $30m will improve and expand its online services. The rest of the sum is expected to be used on testing live streaming of the broadcaster’s radio and television shows.
ABC Managing Director Mark Scott welcomed the federal budget boost saying the investment “acknowledges two of the prime areas where the ABC is using its digital expertise to deliver on its Charter obligations to inform, educate, and entertain Australians.” “SBS is a lean and agile hybrid broadcaster which punches above its weight… despite operating on one fifth of the average budget of all the other broadcasters.” – Michael Ebeid, SBS Managing Director
The Budget funding follows Minister Conroy giving the ABC $10 million for the hire of more newspeople earlier in the year and a $90m loan to ‘consolidate’ its Melbourne headquarters into a new purpose-built facility for ABC radio, TV, and online operations, planning to repay the construction loan coasts by 2020-21.
SBS also benefits greatly from last night’s Budget, receiving an extra $20m over three years for upkeep of its TV, radio, and online services, as well as a further $10m over five years to go towards producing more local content. Managing Director Michael Ebeid said the additional funding would help SBS continue to operate in the face of spiralling production costs and audience demand and demonstrated the Federal Goverment’s recognition of the “continuing and vital” role SBS played.
“SBS is a lean and agile hybrid broadcaster which punches above its weight with distinctive and innovative content, despite operating on one fifth of the average budget of all the other broadcasters,” said Mr Ebeid.
“This funding will equip SBS to provide the services that are critical to its responsibility to be a broadcaster for all Australians, in a climate where commercial growth is subdued, content costs are increasing and audiences are fragmenting across the myriad of channels, platforms and devices available to them.”
The SBS Managing Director also pointed towards the importance of SBS as Australia’s multicultural diversity grows into the future, continuing to broadcast in 74 different languages on radio and addressing the multifarious needs of a culturally diverse nation.
“Today, one-in-four Australians was born overseas, 43.1 per cent have at least one overseas-born parent and our language other than English (LOTE) community makes up four million people,” Mr Ebeid said. “In this budget, Minister Conroy and the government have recognised that demand for SBS’s services will only continue to grow as Australia becomes more and more culturally diverse.”
