Commercial radio stations sign on

At the Belgrave Heights and South Fire Station today, Premier John Brumby announced a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Government and Commercial Radio Australia for nearly 30 commercial radio stations across Victoria to become official emergency broadcasters for the upcoming fire season.  

Mr Brumby said the agreement was the first of its kind between the State and commercial radio stations and would mean for the first time that Victorians could listen to commercial radio in Victoria for the broadcast of emergency warnings during bushfires and other emergencies.

Commercial Radio Australia covers about 30 radio stations in metropolitan Melbourne and regional Victoria. The agreement covers commercial radio stations in Melbourne, Ballarat, Bendigo, Geelong, Warragul, Mildura, Albury/Wodonga, Colac, Hamilton, Swan Hill, Sale, Horsham, Warrnambool and Wangaratta.

“The task for us all is to work together to make our state as fire-safe and as fire-ready as possible so that lives can be protected,” Mr Brumby said.

“The signing of this MoU with Victoria’s commercial broadcasters will greatly increase the reach of emergency warnings in Victoria which will help Victorians prepare, act and survive for bushfires and other emergencies by providing them with the information they need to act.

“This agreement shows the importance of partnerships to the firefighting effort. It builds on the actions our Government and fire agencies are taking to roll-out measures announced since the February fires and the implementation of Royal Commission interim report recommendations.”

The Victorian Government supported all 51 recommendations of the 2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission interim report.

Among the Commission’s recommendations was that the State invite commercial operators into an MoU, similar to its MoU with the ABC on the dissemination of bushfire warning messages and the use of the Standard Emergency Warning Signal (SEWS) by operators.

Under the new agreement commercial radio broadcasters will broadcast emergency warnings, as requested by emergency services, to notify commercial radio listeners of an emergency, such as a bushfire in their area. This includes interrupting programming and going to continuous coverage where necessary.

Chief executive of peak industry association, Commercial Radio Australia, which represents more than 260 stations nationally, Joan Warner said she was pleased that commercial broadcasters would now be recognised as official providers of emergency service information in Victoria.

"The commercial radio industry is pleased to partner with the Victorian Government and be officially recognised as a provider of emergency information for local communities,” Ms Warner said.

“This is a very sensible decision given that commercial broadcasters reach approximately 80 per cent of the population. The MoU means commercial radio stations will be able to get important information out to the majority of Victorians in local communities in times of emergency."

The agreement was signed today by the Minister for Police and Emergency Services, Bob Cameron and Ms Warner, on behalf of commercial broadcasters in Victoria.

Mr Cameron said the MoU built on arrangements the Government had in place with ABC and Sky News for emergency broadcasting.

“This is a major step forward and will help to better protect Victorians in future bushfire seasons and other emergencies,” Mr Cameron said.

“Giving emergency warnings to the community as quickly as possible during these events is critical to saving lives.

“This is one of a range of initiatives the Brumby Government is undertaking to enhance the delivery of warnings, in line with the recommendations of the Royal Commission’s interim report.  

“Our Government and fire agencies have been working quickly to implement new measures and improvements, to train large numbers of staff, and to work with communities to prepare for the approaching fire season which experts predict could be as bad, if not worse, than the fire season we’ve just experienced.

“These measures include a new fire danger rating system with a new category for Code Red (Catastrophic) days, warnings which will be able to be delivered to fixed and mobile phones based on a billing address through a new national emergency warning system, a Standard Emergency Warning Signal that will interrupt media broadcasts before potentially life threatening fires and significant additional resources for the fire preparation and firefighting effort.”

Commercial radio stations participating in this agreement include:

This article was taken from a media release from the Premier of Victoria.