Following changes to management at 3KND, Victoria’s only and well-respected Aboriginal radio station, Victorian Aboriginal News is now broadcasting a number of programs on the station.
Commencing on the 1st of May 2024, at 10am every Wednesday, VAN’s Charles Pakana will be hosting the Victorian Aboriginal News Hour, which will feature interviews with people from across the State who are shaping the fabric of Aboriginal Victoria.
Station Manager of 3KND, Taungarung man Grant Hansen said: “We’re absolutely rapt to have Charles and VAN on 3KND – where they belong.
“We’re doing our level best to ensure 3KND is truly representative of Victorian Aboriginal voices; and we recognise that the content that VAN has been developing over the past several years is definitely a best fit for our radio station as we move forward.”
Host of the program, and VAN’s founder and editor, Charles Pakana commented: “It definitely feels great to be back on 3KND.
“I can see that with the change in management, there is a strong match with the values we hold at Victorian Aboriginal News.”
Maintaining editorial independence
In keeping with VAN’s commitment to editorial independence, both organisations have agreed that the Victorian Aboriginal News hour content is under the complete control of VAN.
“We know that Charles and his team maintain the highest levels of professional journalism and cultural care, otherwise we wouldn’t have even considered this MoU,” Mr. Hansen said.
Importantly, for listeners of the VAN Talks podcast, which commenced as the Referendum ’23 Tapes in January 2023, all interviews will still be published on podcasting platforms and on the VAN website.
Sixties Sojourn returns
As detailed elsewhere on this website, included in the MOU is the return of the very popular sixties music program Sixties Sojourn.
Airing on 3KND every Sunday from 3pm, listeners can tune in and hear up to three hours of music from – as Charles says: “The decade that brought us nothing less than the very best of music…the sixties.”
It is really cool to know that 3KND will deliver Kool n Deadly stuff on 3KND broadcasting Victorian Aboriginal News content. Congratulations to Charles Pakana and Grant Hansen for reaching an MOU agreement on this broadcasting arrangement.
I met Charles at the 2023 at the combined AGM of ANTAR and Reconciliation Victoria at which he was the commanding Master of Ceremonies. I had a chance to speak with him afterwards.
By purchasing the latest book authored by Professor Andrew Gunstone, co-Chair of Reconciliation Victoria and Inaugural Associate Deputy Vice-Chancellor at his recently established National Centre for Reconciliation, Truth and Justice, I was able to catch up with the transcript of the podcast in which Charles interviewed the Professor, published in 2024 in his “Reflections on the Voice: During and after the Campaign” Arcadia, ISBN 978-1-923068-79-7.” The book provides many helpful insights.
Despite the disappointing outcomes of the Voice, there is a wider agenda to discuss, and it is important that podcasts like this, associated with online transcripts of all interviews regarding the Referendum under the label of “23 Tapes in January 2023.”
The reason for retrospective analysis is to learn lessons on strategy and more about the tactics of the Disinformation Campaign, knowing that such tactics will be repeated as the goals of promoting self-determination, truth and treaty are pursued.
Thanks for keeping us informed. Cheers, Madeleine Kingston, Victorian non-supporter.