Reconciliation and Social Justice Library
Reconciliation and Social Justice Library
4.72 A range of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander media has developed in the last decade or so to meet the needs of ATSI people which are not met by the mainstream media. ATSIC advises that over 30 ATSI groups are producing programming for public radio with about 180 hours on-air a week.
4.73 The Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association (CAAMA) provides a range of media services including television though its Imparja station, radio and music recording and sales. The Imparja satellite footprint covers all of central and much of Northern Australia. Imparja has a commercial licence and broadcasts predominantly mainstream television programs. However, it does broadcast approximately one hour a week of Aboriginal material including material in language.
4.74 Only one public broadcasting license has been granted for an Aboriginal special interest service. This is 8 KIN in Alice Springs operated by CAAMA. 8 KIN broadcasts over several different frequency services and now covers the entire area serviced by Imparja television through a "piggy back" FM carrier on the Imparja satellite signal. A considerable amount of 8 KIN material is in language including much Aboriginal music both traditional and contemporary. The committee believes that community radio stations providing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander programming offer considerable benefits to wider Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander audiences and should be further encouraged.
4.75 The Broadcasting for Remote Aboriginal Community Scheme (BRACS) was designed to give remote communities access to and control of local television and radio services in their community. These small scale stations allow the broadcast of locally produced material, including material in language, as well as access to mainstream radio and television programs from satellite broadcasts. They can broadcast in local languages in communities where English is very limited but more importantly they can broadcast programs to strengthen language in communities where that language is not strong. These facilities provide a useful means of promoting Aboriginal languages utilising media which are usually associated with language loss. The power of the media can be used to enhance the authority and prestige of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages they broadcast. The committee was surprised to learn at one community, where three traditional languages were used and widely understood, that the BRACS station did not carry any programs in these languages.
4.76 Included in the BRACS equipment are video and radio production facilities. The committee saw excellent local productions of community activity and news magazine programs which highlighted the value of BRACS. Maintenance of equipment and training of replacement staff were common BRACS problems encountered by the committee on visits to BRACS communities. Where BRACS stations lack trained staff, or production equipment is not working, mainstream programs only are broadcast. The broadcast of culturally inappropriate programs without any local content defeats the main objectives in establishing BRACS.
4.77 The committee recommends that:
the Commonwealth ensure that trainee BRACS operators are encouraged during training to make greater use of local languages in their programming. The program content should continue to be decided by the Community; (Recommendation 3)
the Commonwealth should review the existing resources available through BRAGS so that greater use can be made of this facility. The ongoing training of operators and maintenance arrangements for BRAGS should also be reviewed to maximise their effectiveness. (Recommendation 4)