Last Saturday, Channel 31 (C31) celebrated its 30th anniversary as a community broadcaster. C31 Melbourne and Geelong (also known as the Melbourne Community Television Consortium) is Victoria’s foremost not-for-profit community television service. The event held at Cathedral Hall in Brunswick marked three decades of community broadcasting with an evening filled with entertainment, nostalgia, and surprises.
Iconic moments, celebrities who began their careers at Channel 31, and community representatives, creatives, and presenters all came together to celebrate what has become a local media institution.
The chair of the MCTC board, Mike Zafiropoulos AM, former Director of SBS Radio and a pioneering multicultural leader acknowledged the First Nations people of Australia and welcomed the pundits, creatives, and community representatives.
“Channel 31 is a voice for diverse communities in the media landscape, a home for local arts and culture, a place for learning skills in the industry, and a platform for providing accessible experience and exposure,” Zafiropoulos said. He added that 2024 also marks another important milestone: 50 years of community broadcasting.
Zafiropoulos noted that Channel 31 “has always been a platform for diverse voices, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.” He continued, “In that same spirit, we also recognise the rich intersection of cultures, identities, and abilities in this room tonight—and throughout the station’s history.”
He then invited attendees to “take a quick trip down memory lane.” “Picture Melbourne in 1994: No Internet and Channel 31 was the small but determined station, daring to give a voice to the community—one you could not hear on the big networks.”
He highlighted how, despite the digital and communications revolution transforming the media landscape, Channel 31 is “still here.” The community broadcaster has evolved “into this new era of storytelling.”
“We’ve embraced the digital age and recently launched the CTV Plus app, our very own streaming service.” Regardless of the changes, Zafiropoulos emphasised that the broadcaster has “held onto the same values” that made it vital 30 years ago: telling stories that matter to the community and giving a voice to the unseen and unheard.
He thanked various individuals, including the federal minister for communications, Michelle Rowland, whom he called “a great supporter”; Nick Staikos, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan; and Vivienne Nguyen, Chair of the Victorian Multicultural Commission, whom he described as a “good friend.”
The chair also thanked staff, “past and present,” stating they have been the “backbone of this station.”
Zafiropoulos then acknowledged the creators, “storytellers, producers, and program makers,” including Vasili from the popular ‘Vasili’s Garden,’ to well-known journalist and Channel 10’s ‘The Project’ host Waleed Aly, and national comedic treasures Nazeem Hussain who got their start on Channel 31. Waleed Aly appeared at the celebrations by video while Chinese-Australian comedian Annie Louey spoke at the event .
He then mentioned Rove McManus, who rose to the top of Australia’s entertainment and television industry as a television personality and producer. The night before the celebration, McManus said on ‘The Project’: “Channel 31 is a great breeding ground for people like him.”
Zafiropoulos said that Channel 31 “is about renewal, focusing on new local talent and communities, new stories, and new opportunities.”
He added, “It’s about bringing in new voices, new ideas, and new audiences. We’re still here for the underrepresented voices. We continue to champion those who don’t get mainstream airtime, and we’re not stopping anytime soon.”
As the night ended, it was clear that Channel 31’s legacy lives on, in its history and in the new voices, stories, and communities that will continue to shape its future.
