Human Rights Commission

Plains FM96.9 Te Reo Irirangi O Te Maania is operated by the Canterbury Communications Trust as a community radio station providing facilities for community access broadcasting, and is supported with funding from NZ on Air.

As well as a range of excellent local information programming and superb music, Plains FM96.9 caters for groups under-represented in mainstream media. These groups include women, children and youth, people with disabilities, minority groups, including ethnic minorities, and faith communities.

Plains FM96.9 provides the technical facilities and professional training to enable these groups to broadcast their own programmes. The station then hands editorial control to the broadcaster with the aim of empowering and strengthening the links within and between communities to foster and develop the culture of New Zealand/Aotearoa.

The station also provides listeners with alternative community programming in the form of feature interviews in a daily morning programme, about local issues and events, BBC World Service news, documentary programmes and music from around the world. Plains FM specialises in new release music across a number of genres including acoustic roots, world, alternative country, folk, blues and jazz.

Visit the website of Plains FM96.9

World Zone

Plains FM96.9 currently broadcasts  55 programmes representing a range of communities in 11 different languages including Te Reo Maori, Arabic, Italian, Dutch, Samoan, Tongan, Fijian, Japanese, Nepalese,  Afrikaans and Mandarin. For more information visit the Plains FM96.9 website.

Faith Zone

Plains FM96.9 currently airs 10 programmes representing diverse religious communities, in Samoan as well as English.

Projects 2012

Plains FM96.9 supports many community events through its community information service – Community Connection, and is a proud sponsor of the annual Culture Galore Festival and the Festival of  Flowers, and actively promotes KidsFest, ChartFest, NZ Music Week, the World Cinema Showcase, the Italian Film Festival, and the City Libraries Earthquake Stories Project.

Station staff produce a range of 30 second language vignettes which are sprinkled throughout the schedule for Maori Language Week.  Our programmes in Samoan – Samoa E Le Galo, Lau Matalasi Samoa, Talofa Radio and Penina O Samoa – will actively promote and participate in Samoan Language Week with interviews, a rundown of events and many opportunities for the community to participate on air. 

The station actively promotes: Matariki, World Refugee Day, Diwali and will attend and promote the New Zealand Diversity Forum in 2012.

Staff regularly attend the Refugee and Migrant Forum and NGO sector meetings and actively encourage member organisations to create their own independent radio programmes in a collaborative partnership to ensure their voices are heard.

Community Languages and Information Network (CLING)

Plains FM96.9 is part of the Community Languages and Information Network (CLING), a network of agencies and organisations advocating for accessible information in the appropriate languages for the refugee and migrant communities of Canterbury with regards to earthquake recovery and the Christchurch rebuild.

Special Events

2012 will see the station developing radio programmes and podcasts with primary and intermediate school students; and a range of live to air outside broadcasts through not-for-profit community group partnerships.

For Race Relations Day in March 2012 the station is planning a live to air panel debate with the topic yet to be decided.

Canterbury Cultures

Tune in on Tuesday mornings at 10:30am to Canterbury Cultures, a weekly programme about resources for Canterbury’s refugee and migrant communities presented by those working in the sector. Each week differs with all sorts of topics being discussed such as migrant experiences & stories, what’s available for people new to our region, the challenges, what works well and what needs to happen to improve services and delivery. Hear about the wonderful contribution diverse cultures bring to enrich our city.

This is a new project by Plains FM and part-funded by Christchurch City Council.

Contact Nicki Reece, nicki@plainsfm.org.nz