Reflecting on The Wire's Special Budget Night Broadcast

The Federal Budget 2024, on Tuesday 14 May, resulted in a collaboration in the spirit of Roadmap 2033, between The Wire, National Radio News, 2SER, Hornsby's Triple H and the Community Radio Network.

Triple H was presented by Alexi Boyd who had this to say: “I had fun running around the Gallery with my community radio branded microphone asking all the advocates to give two minutes of their time on industry perspectives. I was lucky to interview Bran Black, CEO of Business Council of Australia, Georgie Dent, CEO of The Parenthood, Chris Richardson, Australia's leading economist and Smart Energy Council's John Grimes.”

The show was produced by our political reporter, Noah Secomb, who worked to set-up the space to share with the Wire presenter, Rod Chambers, four of his volunteers from 2SER and National Radio News' Sasha Foot. Sasha had been released from newsroom duties in Bathurst and spent four days reporting alongside Noah, including  delivering a special live bulletin as part of the Budget Special.

The entire team was part of the famed Budget lock-up, where the media is prevented from communicating with anyone outside parliament as Australia’s fiscal future is presented. 2SER volunteers Steven Samaras and Alana Sunavratil joined presenter Rod Chambers and his expert guest and academic, Melissa Edwards, and the rest of the team to comb through the detail of what would be made public shortly after. It was a real team effort as described by Alexi Boyd, “My community broadcasting colleagues shared knowledge, budget analysis tips, and chocolates and made the experience stress free.”

Executive Producer of the Wire, Eduardo Jordan was delighted to see the show try this new format: "The Federal Budget special coverage of The Wire demonstrated that the news network across the (community broadcasting) sector is stronger than ever, with multiple collaborations on each front, giving a space to the issues the community are interested in. By creating partnerships across the sector, we are giving a platform to real voices and amplifying them to reflect the real Australia."

Listen to the Budget Special here.

Pictured: Politicial Reporter Noah Secomb and 2SER Volunteer Alana Sunavratil