Media Release: Support grows for First Nations Media
First Nations Media Australia has welcomed announcements of support for our sector during the 2019 election campaign.
Shadow Minister for Regional Telecommunications, Stephen Jones MP announced yesterday that a Labor Government will invest $7 million on a strategy to improve connectivity in remote Indigenous communities as part of Labor's broader $245 million investment to improve regional connectivity.
Labor will allocate $2 million of this funding to support First Nations media with upgrades to broadcasting, transmission and digital networking equipment.
Stephen Jones joined Elida Faith, Labor candidate for Leichardt on QRAM's Morning Focus program to make the announcement.
Stephen Jones presenting the Outstanding Contributor Award to
Vince Coulthard at the First Nations Media Awards
The Australian Greens have included support for First Nations media sector as part of their Strengthening Australian Media policy. The Greens will increase and index the annual funding for First Nations Media to $30 million per annum.
The Greens will also move to provide for a separate broadcaster license category for First Nations broadcasting and to make the necessary regulatory changes for spectrum allocation and codes of practice.
The Australian Progressives have pledged to support all 9 of our sector's Calls for Action should any of the 5 candidates they have standing in the ACT and Queensland be elected to Parliament.
Some of the individual candidates for the United Australia Party have also indicated they will support our Calls for Action if elected, however there is no party-wide policy relating to First Nations media as part of the platform at this stage. Those individuals are Duncan Dean candidate for La Trobe and Paul Creighton candidate for Forde.
These announcements are made in response to 9 Calls for Action the First Nations media sector has been calling on Government to take. While the support offered to date is very welcome, it does not fully address the needs of our sector to grow the number of meaningful jobs we can provide, implement our Employment & Skills Development Strategy to build career pathways, grow capacity for news production and sharing, digitise and preserve 40 years of community-produced media collections before they’re lost forever and expand our service reach. First Nations Media Australia continues to lobby for support for those activities.
Labor's commitment of $2 million toward infrastructure for First Nations media will assist our sector to meet emerging technological developments and undertake urgent equipment upgrades and we value the support committed from candidates to date.
For further information, photos or interviews contact: Claire Stuchbery Policy & Communications Officer claire@firstnationsmedia.org.au 0403 520 765
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