Radio 5NPY

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Radio 5NPY is allowing the people of the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Lands to have their say. The radio allows other indigenous and non-indigenous groups to hear our voice. This is bringing the communities together and keeping one of the world's oldest cultures alive and strong.

In the future, the whole of Australia will be listening to us. We'll be able to talk with the government through our radio. We'll have a voice to reach the people on the outside. While people have been told that Anangu people have received enormous advantages, in fact people are still waiting for recognition of their rights, for respect, for the basic amenities afforded to other Australians. New forms of communication will help Anangu people transmit the truth about their culture, about their lives, and shape their own self-representation. The tribal people here in the centre maintain their very strong culture. We have a dream that people on the outside will learn about that culture, about a way of life that has been sustained for thousands of years.

Donald Fraser
Director, PY Media

Radio 5NPY Anangu (People) Winkiku (winki - all, ku - of) Satellite Network translates loosely as "everyone's satellite network" referring to all the people of the central western desert language groups.

The network consists of eleven communities with their own BRACS (Broadcasting in Remote Aboriginal Scheme) radio stations that are hooked up to a central hub station in Umuwa. The Communities are: in South Australia: Fregon, Ernabella, Mimili, Indulkana, Amata, Pipalyatjara, Yalata; in the Northern Territory: Docker River, Imampa, Finke River, and Mutitjulu.

Radio 5NPY was initiated to allow all of these communities a chance to keep their own identity, but also to be part of a strong radio network that spans a footprint covering over one fifth of Australia's land mass.

Manager, PY Media