Dear Minister,
For 30 years, governments from both sides of politics have supported community broadcasting, with an understanding of the unique and essential social cohesion, representation and participation that ethnic community broadcasting brings to Australian society.
The recommendation of the National Commission of Audit to abolish all funding to the Community Broadcasting Program is baseless and threatens the existence of community radio programs and stations on which millions of Australians rely.
We hope that the government will see reason when it delivers its budget on 13 May 2014 and continues its bipartisan support for ALL community broadcasting.
Why is this important?
The cuts suggested in the National Commission of Audit Report could mean the end of ethnic radio programs and the closure of community radio stations.
Ethnic community broadcasting is a vital and cost-effective community service that harnesses the skills, expertise and time of over 4000 volunteers from 125 distinct cultural groups to produce over 2,118 hours of content on 130 stations every week. Government investment is crucial to sustaining and building the capacity of this volunteer-driven sector.
Ethnic community broadcasting provides quality local content in over 100 languages and plays a critical and unique role in facilitating Australia's remarkable cultural diversity and social cohesion.
How it will be delivered
The signatures will be emailed to the Minister on MONDAY 12 MAY 2014. You can also contact the Minister directly:
Email - [email protected]
Phone - 02 9327 3988
Twitter - @TurnbullMalcolm
