THE NATIONAL PERSPECTIVE 
A brief history of Australian community broadcasting
Community broadcasting in
Australia evolved from 'public' broadcasting, inaugurated in 1972 when
the now defunct Australian Broadcasting Control Board recommended the
introduction of "a new type of service ... conducted on a non-profit
basis".
The proposed service was
designed as an alternative to mainstream media by encouraging community
access and providing a diverse range of programs catering to the needs
and interests of specific communities and special interest groups.
The first experimental
licences were issued in 1974 to 2MBS, 3MBS and 5UV in Sydney, Melbourne
and Adelaide respectively. However, it took a further two years and the
allocation of another 12 licences across Australia (including one to
6NR in Perth) before public broadcasting was legitimised. By the end of
the 1980s, 79 public radio licences had been issued in Australia.
The introduction of the
Broadcasting Services Act 1992 and subsequent deregulation of the
industry resulted in significant changes. By 1993, the Australian
Broadcasting Authority had replaced the Australian Broadcasting Control
Board; each sector was governed by self-regulatory Codes of Practice;
the term 'public broadcasting' had become 'community broadcasting'; and
Australia had more than 130 permanently licenced community radio
stations.
Just over a decade later,
Australia has more than 420 long term licensed community broadcasting
services (over half of them located in rural, regional and remote
areas) and 32 TCBLs. Their individual transmission strength varies from
low to high power. Some have sophisticated studios fitted with
expensive digital equipment and the latest ergonomic furniture; others
make do with analogue hand-me-downs and battered office chairs. Some
have paid staff, while others are operated entirely by volunteers.
And, in keeping with the
axioms on which the sector was initiated, programming is as
heterogeneous in style and composition as the stations' listeners.
Community television has also entered the scene and is gradually
finding its feet.
Gigantic strides have been
made over the past 30 years. More than 25,000 Australians - volunteers
and paid professionals - are now involved in community broadcasting,
each of them in their own way furthering the sector's guiding
principles of access, diversity, localism and independence.
