Allocation of four community radio broadcasting licences for ... - ACMA

The ABA notes that the ABS supports this view. The ABS found that the number of
people who reported being of Indigenous origin in Australia increased by 28.4%
between 1991 and 1996. As a proportion of Victoria’s population, this represented an
increase from 0.4% to 0.5% in Victoria. The ABS has projected the Indigenous
population in Victoria in 2001 at 24,586. Given that the Indigenous population of
Melbourne comprises approximately half of the total Victorian Indigenous
population, the ABA estimates the Indigenous population in Melbourne at
approximately 12,000 in 2001.
The ABA notes, however, that the Census size of the Indigenous community does
not necessarily reflect the true listening audience of an Indigenous radio service. The
ABA’s 1994 report entitled Listening to the Listeners – Radio Research found that
interest in receiving an Indigenous radio service by people who perceived that they
did not have access to one already was 2.0% in Melbourne, or 63,276 people in the
Melbourne licence area.
Christian community
Triple Seven proposes to serve the broader Christian community embracing
churchgoers, non-churchgoers and those interested in spirituality. CBL proposes to
represent the Catholic community.
The 1996 Census indicates that 2,078,582 people identified as Christian in the
Melbourne-wide licence area, or 65.7% of the licence population. The main Christian
denomination was Catholic comprising 952,674 persons or 30% of the Melbourne
population. The other main Christian denominations include Anglican (23%),
Orthodox (9%), Uniting Church (8%) and Presbyterian (5%).
There is currently no full time Christian broadcasting service in Melbourne. Most
existing religious programming is confined to Sundays, or late evening/early
morning time slots.
Triple Seven refers to a survey conducted by NCLS Research in conjunction with
Edith Cowen University of 8,500 respondents, which found that 438,047 Australian
adults over 18 years (or 14% of the Melbourne licence area population) attended a
service of worship at a Christian church at least monthly. Triple Seven claims that if
children under 18 years were included church attendees are estimated to be 580,000.
The study also found that 32% of Australians say spirituality is very important and
34% say it is important to them.
The ABA notes, however, that the Census size of the Christian community does not
necessarily reflect the true listening audience of a Christian radio service. The
ABA’s 1994 report entitled Listening to the Listeners – Radio Research found that
interest in receiving a Christian radio service by people who perceived that they did
not have access to one already was 2.3% in Melbourne, or 72,767 people in the
Melbourne licence area.
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