About Hot FM Mildura

Hot FM Mildura

Hot FM is a community radio station broadcasting on 106.7 FM to Mildura and the Sunraysia region of north-west Victoria, Australia. Operating under the callsign 3HOT, the station is run by the Sunraysia Community Radio Association Inc — the 100th community station licensed in Australia — and has been on air full-time since 28 April 1991. Its motto, "Keeping the community informed and entertained", describes a volunteer-run station offering multicultural programs in Greek, Italian and Indian languages, local sports coverage, music and talk, with translators on 90.7 FM serving Robinvale and Wentworth.

Overview

Hot FM transmits on 106.7 FM from its studio complex at 6 Byrne Court, Mildura, with low-power translators on 90.7 FM at Robinvale and Wentworth extending coverage across the Sunraysia district. The station's programming spans first-language ethnic shows (Greek, Italian and Indian), local sports — notably Sunraysia Football League coverage — music of many genres, and talk programming, all produced by volunteers.

The station maintains an outside-broadcast capability covering festivals, shows and business events, and runs a merchandise shop supporting its fundraising.

History

Hot FM's history is one of the great maverick stories of Australian community radio — and it belongs to Max Thorburn. Thorburn, who began his media career at the age of 13 writing football reviews, tried to set up a new radio station in Mildura in 1982 in opposition to the established local commercial empire of 3MA. The powers-that-be clamped down — so he broadcast illegally for 77 days, an act of pirate radio that led to a court appearance and a fine of $1. He got his permanent licence ten years later.

The Sunraysia Community Radio Association Inc was formed in 1982 and became the 100th community station in Australia to be licensed. The association conducted 72 weeks of test transmissions — a record at the time — before securing its full-time licence in July 1991, beginning full-time transmissions on 28 April 1991 once the offer of licence was made. Along the way it survived the longest-ever Australian Broadcasting Tribunal hearing, lasting four years from 1985 to 1989, as an objecting participant in the Mildura supplementary licence inquiry — a hearing whose decision was overturned in the Supreme Court.

The four-year tribunal ordeal deserves its weight in the story. The Mildura supplementary licence inquiry was the longest in the tribunal's history — a marathon of legal argument, engineering evidence and community testimony, with the commercial incumbents fighting to keep the community aspirants off the air. That the association endured it, then won its licence anyway, then saw the tribunal's decision overturned in the Supreme Court, speaks to a determination that went far beyond one man's pirate broadcasts. An entire community organisation held its nerve for four years against the full resources of the commercial radio establishment — and won.

From 1982 to 1995, the owners of the commercial operator 3MA vigorously opposed Hot FM's role in presenting local programs. That changed when the local owners sold out — first to the Gamble family, then to DMG — and the new owners embarked on cooperative measures: Hot FM presenters were encouraged to participate in 3MA's annual hospital appeal, and the stations began working together rather than against each other.

Max Thorburn died in October 2018 at the age of 72 after a three-year battle with cancer. He was not only the founder of Hot FM but also of the Mildura Country Music Festival, served on the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia's Community Radio Network advisory committee, and was inducted into the Australian Country Music Broadcasters' Hall of Fame as "a country music legend". He served ten years as a Mildura councillor and was awarded life membership of the Sunraysia Football and Netball League for his support of local sport. His daughter Cassandra — the former wife of television presenter Karl Stefanovic — recalled his philosophy: accept that life is full of imperfect people, approach each day as an opportunity to do better, and admit mistakes and make amends.

Programming

Hot FM's schedule reflects its community-service charter. First-language ethnic programs in Greek, Italian and Indian serve Mildura's multicultural communities — the post-war migrants and their descendants who transformed Sunraysia's demographics. Local sports coverage is a flagship: when 3MA announced it would no longer broadcast Sunraysia League football games, Hot FM immediately took up the broadcasts for the league and its fans — including the junior medal count and a half-hour Friday morning preview program, giving football additional coverage the commercial stations had abandoned.

The station's 2000 parliamentary submission recorded around 50 volunteer presenters producing 153 hours of local program per week — a remarkable output for a community station. Special events include the hospital appeal broadcasts: in 2000, the appeal was extended to two days, with 3MA broadcasting live from the Mildura City Heart Mall on Good Friday and Hot FM on Easter Saturday. On Christmas Day, the station's volunteers presented 12 hours of live programming — the only electronic service in Mildura providing local programs on public holidays.

Coverage and Audience

Hot FM transmits on 106.7 FM in Mildura, with 90.7 FM translators at Robinvale and Wentworth (36 kilometres west of Mildura), and a licensed 90.7 service for Ouyen. The association deliberately chose low-power translators over a single high-power base transmitter — the Mildura broadcast area is surrounded by national parks, and a high-powered transmitter would waste energy and money. The association also holds low-power ethnic licences on 88.0 at Red Cliffs and Merbein.

No independently published audience figures are available for Hot FM, and the station makes no listenership claims; community stations are not covered by the commercial ratings system. Its audience is the Sunraysia community — the multicultural communities served by the ethnic programs, the football fans, the festival-goers and the listeners who value a volunteer voice independent of the commercial duopoly.

Ownership

Hot FM is owned and operated by the Sunraysia Community Radio Association Inc (ABN 91 305 406 312). The association's board of management comprises six group members and six individual members: the group members are the River City Jazz Club, the Mildura Country Music Festival Committee Inc, the Church of Christ Mildura, the Sunraysia Ethnic Communities Council, the Medimurski Club of Sunraysia and the Red Cliffs Youth Christian Fellowship, with the individual members drawn mainly from station presenters.

The board's composition is a constitution written in community groups: jazz lovers, country music fans, a church, the ethnic communities council, a Croatian cultural club, a Christian youth fellowship — plus the presenters themselves. It is governance by the community the station serves, ensuring no single interest can capture the licence. That the Mildura Country Music Festival Committee sits on the board of the station its founder also founded closes a circle: Thorburn's two great community creations, governing each other. Published contact details include PO Box 1067, Mildura VIC 3502, 6 Byrne Court, Mildura, phone (03) 5022 1067 and email info@hotfm.org.au.

Digital Presence

The station's official website, hotfm.org.au, is verified as its live online home: it showcases the station's cultural content — the Greek, Italian and Indian first-language shows — the merchandise shop (tees, jackets, hats, mugs) and the outside-broadcast services. The station maintains social presences including @HotFMSunraysia and @hotfm1067. Between the website, the 106.7 FM signal, the 90.7 translators and social channels, Hot FM keeps its Sunraysia community informed and entertained — the maverick station that Max Thorburn built, still volunteer-run more than three decades after those 77 illegal days on air.