SCMA | Southern Community Media Association

Two more community radio stations have become official emergency broadcasters in time for the bushfire season, Minister for Emergency Services Bob Cameron announced today.

Visiting Stereo 974 FM in Brooklyn and Plenty Valley FM today, Mr Cameron said the stations will become emergency broadcasters in a further bid to boost emergency messaging to communities in times of need.

Mr Cameron said the agreements are similar to the MOUs in place between the emergency services, community broadcaster UGFM – Radio Murrinidindi, commercial radio networks, ABC local radio and Sky News TV.

“Stereo 974 FM and Plenty Valley FM are both committed to providing official emergency information to all communities in their areas, no matter the emergency, and the Brumby Labor Government is proud to partner with them in having this historic MOU signed,” Mr Cameron said.

“Both stations have a strong history of serving their respective communities and our Government is proud to have worked with the local communities to harness the great local work they do to help keep the community safer.

Mr Cameron said while all radio stations have access to emergency information, under the new agreement, Stereo 974 FM and Plenty Valley FM will break into programming to broadcast emergency warnings at the request of the emergency services, and move to continuous coverage in some circumstances.

Stereo 974 FM broadcasts on 97.4 FM to the western suburbs of Melbourne, including Brooklyn, Sunshine, Braybrook, and Footscray, while Plenty Valley FM transmits on 88.6 FM to high fire risk areas in the Nillumbik Shire Council and City of Whittlesea, including Eltham, North Warrandyte and areas of the Kinglake Ranges.

The Office of the Emergency Services Commissioner has invited all community broadcasters in Victoria to enter into emergency broadcasting MOUs, subject to their capabilities.

Acting Emergency Services Commissioner Joe Buffone said both stations will play a significant role in assisting the emergency services to alert local communities.

“Stereo 974 FM and Plenty Valley FM will assist their local areas by broadcasting local emergency warnings to the community as quickly as possible,” Mr Buffone said.

“Local information is critical to saving lives and during this Fire Action Week a week we are dedicated to educating Victorians about how to prepare, act and survive during a fire.”

The Southern Community Media Association (SCMA) is pleased to announce that two more member stations have completed the process and will sign Memorandums of Understandings to become only the second and third Community Broadcasters to sign MOU’s with the Office of the Emergency Services Commissioner (OESC). STEREO 974 based in Brooklyn and Plenty Valley FM located in Mill Park will join the only other station to sign a MOU; 3 UGE FM Alexandra who are also members of the SCMA.

The signings will take place on Tuesday the 12^th of October and will be signed by the Emergency Services Minister Bob Cameron and Acting Emergency Services Commissioner Joe Buffone as well as key Station personal from both Community Broadcasters.

The SCMA has worked hard and long to get Community Broadcasters recognised as Emergency Broadcasters with its efforts dating back over 4 years. The SCMA had identified the valuable roll that community broadcasters could and do have in times of natural disaster and emergencies and began work on developing a protocol to recognise these efforts and introduce uniform emergency broadcasting formats for it’s member stations and the sector as a whole.

The President of the Southern Community Media Association Helen Bath said “It was great to see member stations being recognised for a role that so many community broadcasters had been carrying out for such a long time in an unofficial capacity. The SCMA has achieved what we set out to do and we hope that the fruits of our labour will have a flow on effect throughout the community broadcasting sector right across this Great Southern Land. – Australia”

While these stations are the start of the MOU faze for community broadcasters within Victoria it is hoped that the groundwork laid by the SCMA and the OESC will become the template for MOU’s throughout the nation. While the MOU roll out and development continues community broadcasters from not only the SCMA will continue to pass on vital information to their listeners in times of emergency.

The SCMA is proud to have been deeply involved in this process and congratulates not only the stations that have reached MOU status but all community broadcasters who have made a commitment to emergency broadcasting.

More information or comment on this release by contacting SCMA’s President Helen Bath – either via our web site www.scma.org.au or by phoning 0407770209