BY LISA MACDONALD
SYDNEY — Sydney has a new indigenous radio station — Koori Radio 93.7FM. After six years of campaigning by the Gadigal Information Service, the Australian Broadcasting Authority finally granted a full-time community radio licence on May 25.
GIS chairperson Phillipa McDermott said, "The station could not have happened without the solid and undying support of our community — the Gadigal, Gandangarra, Deerubin, Tharawal and La Perouse peoples of Sydney. This is our community's voice."
McDermott points out that the battle for a comprehensive indigenous radio service in Sydney began with Radio Redfern in the 1980s, which laid the groundwork for the long overdue decision on Koori Radio.
Koori Radio joins the National Indigenous Radio Service and the Alice Springs-based Imparja Television service as the only indigenous-controlled media in Australia.
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission, which supported Koori Radio's application, said the service will meet two important, presently unmet needs: for the indigenous community to have its own broadcasting service which addresses issues of particular concern to it and caters to specific cultural needs; and for the general community to be accurately informed about indigenous issues, which the mainstream media does not do.
A Koori Radio production team, a premises and an upgraded transmitter will be organised over the next few months.
For more information, visit the web site at <http://www.gadigal.org.au>.