I'd like to acknowledge the traditional owners of this country and pay respect to their culture and traditions.

Isn't it great to be here?

Thanks to Peter Batchelor and the Brumby State Government for their generous support for our Conference - our 35th ever and the third time we've gathered in Victoria.

Welcome one and all. The federal communications Minister Senator the Honourable Helen Coonan extends her apologies for not being able to join us here today but we will have the benefit of her virtual presence shortly. I'm sure you will all join with me in welcoming the Shadow Minister Senator Stephen Conroy who has is with us here today.

Also a warm welcome to former Minister, former CBF Chair and present friend and patron, the Honourable Tony Staley - welcome Tony.

Our theme over these three days is taking community media to the next level. This simple headline resonates some of the big questions and challenges for now and the future of our sector:

How will we go forward?
How should we adapt to a changing environment?
What is the next level?
What is the key to our continuing success?

35 years after our emergence as a media sector, we continue to wrestle with regulatory constraints, poor policy settings, lack of resources, internal conflict and the list of woes goes on! On the positive side we have strong audience support, a large and talented volunteer base, bipartisan political support and a strong reputation for innovation, independence and diversity.

As a set of technologies and practices, broadcasting has enjoyed a stable and dominant position in the media landscape. Community broadcasting in particular has thrived on being alternative, on being a major force for localism, on a culture of access and inclusion - we've prided ourselves as being innovators and for being a positive agent in social cohesion and community strength.

But technology is changing around us, above us, below us and some would say despite us...

The challenge is to embrace change - the user-generated content/social networking revolution - but not to lose sight of nor abandon our core principles.

We've got some big questions to tackle though as patterns of media participation and consumption move from the "you get what we want to give you" mode to the so-called "wi-wi-wi" mode "what I want, when I want it".

I don't know if the seismic shift is as simple as the decline and death of old media and the emergence and triumph of the new. The precise nature of the new media construct is unpredictable and experience shows that media and culture form unlikely hybrids.

One thing is clear - our future defining reality will not be solely based on free-to-air services - already this is the case for many of our sector's leading proponents.

The struggle to get and hold a licence to meet the challenge of providing services to identified communities of interest using scarce spectrum will continue, doubtless - for some time. But new platforms are emerging both wired and unwired and perhaps far more significantly new communities or new ways of defining communities are proliferating.

We're on the eve of the election and although the sentiments are warm and the words are supportive neither of the major political parties has made any significant additional commitments to sustain the future of community broadcasting.

This could change in the next 5 minutes perhaps, Senator Conroy?

Politicians of all persuasions have been very strong in espousing their support for the sector throughout the more than 100 meetings that the CBAA and the other sector organisations have had this year.

The four key areas identified in our Funding Submission presented to all political parties are:

1. Content production
2. Infrastructure
3. Training; and
4. Sector coordination

Given the present budget surplus our call for an additional $16.9 million seems a particularly modest ask.

2007 saw the release of two reports from the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Information Technology, Communications and the Arts.

The first calls for urgent action to secure the digital future of community television and the second calls for funding for stations to subsidise management, training and improved governance. None of the major parties have publicly embraced these recommendations and the Government has failed to respond to them. This could all change in the next 5 minutes depending upon what Senator Conroy is about to tell us...

I should acknowledge that the Government made an additional commitment of $10.1m over four years for the first phase of digital radio implementation. The Shadow Arts Minister Peter Garrett has made a strong and unequivocal commitment to Amrap - but there has not yet been any firm support expressed for the key initiatives that need to be embraced to meet the key technical, training and management challenges.

The fact that after more than ten years of empty rhetoric, the digital future of community television hangs in the balance is affronting or indeed, reprehensible.

The fact that community broadcasters remain leaders in innovation, diversity and localism is an ongoing cause for celebration.

The next level cannot be defined by the need for money nor is it about technology in and of itself.

For the CBAA in 2008 and beyond, the next level is about new collaborations, improved resources, major commitment to new management structures, world best practice in industry training and an increased focus on participation and good governance.

The key to success is our own commitment to new skills and evolving practices. Our material success is largely in our own hands so despite my slightly barbed comments, we can't really blame the Government.

Thank you all for your support of the CBAA and the sector - once again warmest greeting from the CBAA Board and staff - may your conference experience be personally enriching and the networking opportunities unparalleled.