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Legislative Council - Fifty-Third Parliament, Second Session (53-2)
2015-07-01 Daily Xml
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Fresh 92.7

The Hon. J.M. GAZZOLA (15:48): Last week, I had the pleasure of meeting with Troy Sincock, the General Manager of Fresh 92.7, and was introduced to Fresh radio's five-year strategic plan, concentrating on continued sustainability and growth. The strategic plan will focus on three key areas, including volunteer participation, youth engagement, and local contemporary music development.

Fresh 92.7 is an Adelaide-based not-for-profit community organisation. It was formed in 1997 by three mates inspired to fill a gap in the market and cater for the niche youth and dance music scene of Adelaide. With volunteers, including some with broadcasting experience, in 1998 Fresh transmitted on our radios for the first time on a shared frequency. In 2002, Fresh was granted a permanent licence by the Australian Broadcasting Authority. With dedicated listeners and the hard work of those behind the scenes, Fresh has grown from strength to strength.

In 2010 Fresh moved into state-of-the art studios and offices. It is now the most listened to community radio station in South Australia having the second-largest market share of any community radio station within Australia. Currently it has 154,000 weekly listeners, 200 plus volunteers and 1,052 subscribers. Within the last two years, the station has doubled its staff and is now employing 17 people.

Fresh has also launched a program with a full-circle approach to sport and the local music industry. Open House is a diverse, contemporary music development program. Fresh has emerged as a key player in the contemporary music industry. It has consulted the government, Adelaide City Council and the local music scene to develop their five-year strategic plan.

As well as broadcasting music, Fresh is dedicated to educating, empowering and entertaining Adelaide's young community. Volunteers are given the opportunity to gain unique professional development, including on-air production, engineering, promotions and administration. The Adelaide radio station has successfully seen a number of volunteers go on to gain employment in the radio and television industry and, through partnerships with the Adelaide City Council, Channel 9, MusicSA, as well as emerging local music organisations like Futuresounds, Fresh has facilitated more than 40 live performance opportunities, including Adelaide's New Year's Eve Event, and has given many local musicians their first radio airplay.

Sean Craig Murphy, owner of the Australian Radio School and Southern Cross Austereo employee referred to Fresh last week as one of the best breeding grounds in the country for new talent. I would like to acknowledge and congratulate Fresh on its achievements as a leading youth broadcaster and wish them the very best with their mission.

While Fresh radio is actively seeking to assist and promote live music, I was concerned to hear of the dispute between the Royal Croquet Club, the Australian Hotels Association and the Adelaide City Council. I read the InDaily article published on 24 June outlining the push for greater restrictions on the RCC event. Lord Mayor Martin Haese openly advocates for vibrancy of Adelaide city. The Lord Mayor's article in The Advertiser on 6 June stated:

We must move closer to business and build on Adelaide's reputation as a vibrant, liveable city. I find cities that think globally are more exciting, culturally diverse and prosperous and I challenge anyone to tell me the downside of that.

The proposed motion for amendments to the Royal Croquet Club trading arrangements may even cause the event to move from South Australia. The clubs co-director, Tom Skipper, said in The Advertiser on 26 June:

To have these rules that only apply to us is really unfair and it will jeopardise our ability to keep doing it.

I note that Parklife, Big Day Out, Summadayze, Future Music Festival and We Love Sounds are no longer staged in Adelaide. Triple J's One Night Stand has not returned to South Australia and, unfortunately, Soundwave is unlikely to return to Adelaide in 2016. The RCC accounted for more than 21 per cent of all tickets sold at the Adelaide Fringe in 2015 and was the largest music offering at the Fringe with approximately 210,000 attending the venue. I am advised that the event was estimated to account for 60 per cent of new Adelaide Fringe attendees. Ian Horne, the general manager of the AHA wrote in the current issue of the AHA magazine and stated:

Also very pleasing is the decision to remove the need for separate entertainment consent for licensees who wish to have entertainment before midnight. In a state which has vibrancy high on the agenda it is absolutely crucial that hotels, who contribute 76 per cent of receipts for APRA, are allowed to support and encourage live music. While we would dearly love to have the need for entertainment consent to be removed for all entertainment at any time, we welcome this is as a first step and hope to see it expanded wherever possible.

It is a great step but it's not the only change needed for live music to be given its best shot in SA. Without the necessary support by local governments through their planning agencies, these changes could be simply replaced with the application of new planning or noise conditions on licensees. It would be pointless to remove one level of restraint just to replace it with another.

This seems at odds with the AHA's concerns regarding the RCC event. I believe that it is time for the government to lead and relieve the Adelaide City Council of some of its regulatory responsibilities and give certainty to the young entrepreneurs locally, nationally and internationally, that Adelaide truly is a great place to work, live and play.

The government should provide a single agency to deal with planning, development, licensing and noise monitoring. We could start with a trial in the CBD as we have with the small bar licences legislation. I think the trendy vernacular is to cut the red tape and set up a one-stop shop. We cannot continue with these perennial debates regarding pop ups versus bricks and mortar.

Time expired.

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