TEABBA CLEANS UP AT NATIONAL COMMUNITY BROADCASTING AWARDS

BY TANGIORA HINAKI

Top End Aboriginal Bush Broadcasting Association (TEABBA) has taken home multiple honours at the 2025 Community Broadcasting Association of Australia (CBAA) Awards in Hobart.

General Manager Don Bayles was officially inducted into the Community Broadcasting Honour Roll, recognising more than 15 years of service to TEABBA and decades of dedication to remote broadcasting across the Top End.

TEABBA also won Excellence in Indigenous Content and Engagement, recognised for its commitment to amplifying Aboriginal voices and supporting 29 remote communities with news, music, and emergency broadcasts. Other Aboriginal finalists in the category included Feel Good Nunga Radio (PBA FM 89.7) and Ngaarda Media for its Missing Men in the Pilbara and Kimberley project, which was named a runner-up.

TEABBA’s technical officer Kyle Doevendans also received the award for Outstanding Technical Contribution, acknowledging his leadership in maintaining and strengthening the network’s technical systems that keep remote stations on air year-round.

Bayles said the awards highlight the importance of local storytelling and the need for stronger support for remote broadcasters.

“We haven’t had a major funding boost for some time,” he said. “It’s frustrating when you can see you’re losing the fight in some areas. But when you see the youth coming in and learning alongside the older broadcasters, you know the future is bright.”

The CBAA Awards celebrate excellence in community broadcasting across the country, recognising the stations and individuals that keep local voices strong.

Listen to Ngaarda Media’s Tangiora Hinaki speak with Don Bayles: