Hawkesbury Radio will cease broadcasting on October 3 when it’s licence expires, as the licensing body announced on Monday it will not be renewing it.
The announcement by the Australian Communications and Media Authority said only two of the 150 community radio licence renewals nationally were knocked back – Hawkesbury Radio’s and a station at Mt Isa.
ACMA acting chairman Richard Bean said the licence of Hawkesbury Radio Communications Cooperative Society Ltd (2VTR) was not renewed due to insufficient community participation.
“The compliance issues went unresolved despite informal and formal enforcement action taken by the ACMA over a lengthy period,” he said.
2VTR’s licence will be advertised for temporary broadcasting soon. The current operators, and anyone else, can apply for a temporary licence, which may be shared amongst applicants. Temporary licences last up to 12 months.