Community radio funding announced!

We have some exciting news to share with you! This morning, Minister for Communications Mitch Fifield announced an increased in funding for community radio totalling $6.1m over two years.

This extra funding is targeted at digital broadcasting (1.9m in 2017/18 and $2m in 2018/19) and to support stations affected by the reorganisation of the 803-960 MHz radio frequency band ($2.2m).

The additional funding for digital radio comes at a critical period for the sector and will assist to maintain metropolitan digital radio services and the planned extension of digital radio to Canberra, Darwin and Hobart. The sector will need this increased level of funding on an ongoing basis to support regional expansion of digital radio and we appreciate the Government’s commitment to supporting these next steps.

The provision of funding to support a large number of regional and metropolitan community radio stations directly affected by the reorganisation of the 803-960 MHz radio frequency band will assist in covering the hard costs associated with this transition and alleviate pressure on these community-owned, not-for-profit organisations. This support is especially critical for regional and rural community stations in maintaining essential infrastructure.

If you’re on Twitter, can you please tweet your thanks to Minister Mitch Fifield @SenatorFifield? Make sure to use the #keepcommunityradio hashtag.

Here’s what we tweeted right after the announcement:

If you’re looking for more ways to spread the word, head to the Keep The Community In Your Radio Facebook page and share our post there or forward this email to your friends.

We could not have done this without your support – thank you for helping keep community radio.

Jon Bisset
Chief Executive Officer
Community Broadcasting Association of Australia

Keep Community Radio
http://www.keepcommunityradio.org.au/