Remote NT broadcast 'hero' raises concerns about gaps in radio coverage

After 32 hours at the microphone, live broadcasting the path of Tropical Cyclone Narelle as it barrelled past his island home, Percy Bishop wasn't feeling like a hero.

"Just staying awake was the hardest thing to do, man," he said, laughing.

For the long-term community radio broadcaster on Groote Eylandt, an island in the Northern Territory's remote east, Bishop said the cyclone-coverage marathon in March was him "just doing his job".

But after the destructive weather system had moved on from the small island community, leaving trees down but minimal lasting damage, Bishop's emergency broadcasting efforts were applauded from on high.

NT Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro visited Groote Eylandt in the cyclone's wake, asking Bishop outside his Angurugu Radio studio: "How does it feel to be a hero?"

Other political leaders, including federal Minister for Indigenous Australians Malarndirri McCarthy and NT Opposition Leader Selena Uibo, also praised Bishop's work.

More than six months have passed since then, but something hasn't sat quite right with Bishop about all those accolades.

"The story isn't the heroics of somebody just doing his job for three days," he said.

"The story is, sadly, that six satellite communities that are vulnerable communities on Groote Eylandt are not connected at all."

Bishop says he's been raising concerns about the six small homelands on the cyclone-prone island, saying they have been left without access to emergency radio coverage that could place them in danger.

He wants the local radio station, which is an independent organisation but receives the bulk of its funding via Groote Eylandt's Anindilyakwa Land Council (ALC), to be better resourced.

His hope is that it will one day widen its reach and says he has raised the matter with the politicians who applauded him, and the ALC.

"This isn't a radio request, this is a human rights demand to have the access, to be informed through any dangerous situation … we have yearly cyclones here,"

he said.

Currently, the radio, which broadcasts in Anindilykwa and English, mainly reaches Groote Eylandt's two biggest remote Anindilyakwa communities, Angurugu and Umbakumba.

But Bishop says coverage does not extend into the harder-to-reach areas. 

"Six disadvantaged [First Nations] language-speaking communities on Groote Eylandt cannot hear one thing about what I'm getting applauded for — and that bothers me," he said.

"You must have comms; you must be connected.

"If there's a major tragedy or challenge going on in the community, whether a wild storm or a fire … they want to be connected.

"So the outside world knows we're in trouble."

Land council pledges support, but no details

Groote Eylandt remote community residents have backed the calls for wider radio coverage.

Mishiya Wilfred, 16, said the lack of radio reach was a problem in the island's more remote parts, where mobile and internet connectivity were by no means assured during a storm.

"It'll be unsafe for them, and for their kids and family,"

she said.

"It's really hard for them to know what's happening around [the island]."

ALC chief executive officer Kupa Teao said he supported the bid for more resources.

"I take my hat off to Percy, he went above and beyond to ensure the message got out to community when the cyclone came," he said.

"I'm very supportive of his program, and he's right.

"It goes back to … ensuring that we communicate with all our traditional owners, and if we can't do that on the air, something is wrong.

"I'm supportive of ensuring that we have open airways so that he can get the message out to the bush, and to communities throughout the Groote Archipelago."

Despite the enthusiasm, it is yet to be seen if and when the ALC will fund the upgrades requested by Groote Broadcasting, or if it will have to apply for further funding from the NT government.

In a statement, an NT government spokesperson said it "values Angurugu Radio and the role it plays in keeping Groote Eylandt communities informed, particularly during emergencies".

"The government is aware of the Anindilyakwa Land Council's interest in extending radio coverage to additional homelands," they said.

"Any formal request will be considered through the appropriate process."