Yes agree, even Lake Macquarie FM broadcasts from outside their licence area.
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Even I am technically outside 2BRW’s licence area!
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What I am skeptical about are those who are aspirant HPON stations, or organisations trying to maneuverer their way into community radio.
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At least 4DDB still sound like a community station and aren’t’ trying to ape a greatest hits commercial station though I think that would be very popular given the FM choice in the area.
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The wheels of the local rotary at work 
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As mentioned in the RDS thread, it looks like 98five has rebranded:
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That’s just the thing, it’s hard to blame community stations for filling a format gap that the commercial stations aren’t providing.
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If this is a Christian station then don’t they have to make it clear?
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Nope the Christian one is 92.9 here in Toowoomba
Oh and I don’t tend to get involved with religious stations either 
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It’s likely clear enough if you listen to it long enough, if it’s anything like Hope 103.2 in Sydney (where there’s a religious song about 1 in every 4 during the weekday).
Looking from a distance, I always found the “Sonshine” pun in their name almost a little too clever, and it always felt odd that people appear to have just called it by the 98five frequency more so.
Yes and the other 3 songs are what you’d hear on commercial radio, albeit family friendly ones in that there is nothing risque or controversial in the lyrics.
I’m a bit surprised that Rhema hasn’t gone down the same path, there is rarely any non religious commercial music.
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There is also Soncity FM in Geraldton…does this station even exist anymore? It is/was on 97.3. Hard to get in Quokka City due to Coast FM. Poor choice of frequency given the propensity for intense ducting along the west coast.
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Long gone. Yeah, use to make a mess of Coast FM away from Mandurah city. MAMA is the current Geraldton community broadcaster on a more suitable frequency 100.5.
Katanning has a 6SON retransmission license, also on 97.3. Not sure if that 1 is on air. Busselton was also trying to set up a 6SON retransmission at one point.
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There’s also 96.5 in Brisbane. I’m not sure whether they were always a religious station but it definitely is now.
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Yes - this is what their licence was granted for.
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And 96five lately (as I’m sure had been mentioned above at some point) is a bit of an interesting question, given they are operated in the same group as Hope 103.2 now (roughly half the directors of Hope Media sit on the Family Radio board, which remains legally separate). I’m not exactly doubting the localism of most of 96.5’s schedule and it’s not quite the same as a sub-metro licence - they are, after all, fulfilling the same mission, so to speak - but I’m not quite sure that was intended. 
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The audio drop-out problem with 89.3 2GLF has gone from bad to worse.
Been an issue for a while now.
No reports on their Facebook pages since Jan 8th re the power problem.
Might be an stereo encoder/processor fault as the stereo pilot disappears with the loss of audio.
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I guess one other slight surprise looking at 96five’s site is, conversely to Sonshine, they’re leaning away from the “Family” branding, having dropped it from their logo.
Changing to “Family Radio” (as per their association name) would be problematic, as that’d be confused with the late Harold Camping’s US network - he of the “the rapture/end of the world will happen in 2012” fame/infamy.
And as much as I’m sure some at the Sydney sistership would love to call it “Hope 96five” to align the branding… that would look waaay more sus than now.
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I’m not a fan of the Hope/96five connection but it’s not without precedent: Vision Australia owns RPH services across Victoria, New South Wales, South Australia and Western Australia now.
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Yeah, VA Radio is the other good example - and likewise, for sure… it’s offering a service that would’ve otherwise been lost in many states (certainly in the case of RPH services) so it’s not exactly a bad thing.
There’s a fair question as to whether they should be seen as narrowcast or community in some cases, but I think for either example it’s merely a matter of semantics (they’re both licensed for an audience of interest after all), especially as it’s unlikely in this environment to be replaced by anything else.
So, totally, mind my nitpicking; I’m usually too good with that sometimes
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