A voice that defies injustice and nonsense: Brisbane’s 4ZZZ radio marks five decades of unwavering independence
Every wall feels like a living archive.
A faded poster proclaims “4ZZZ survives the 14th of December 88,” the day Queensland’s longest-running community radio station was expelled from the University of Queensland. The move was partly fueled by the station’s radical politics. According to station historian Heather Anderson, students reoccupied the space in force and the station barely went off air, eventually agreeing to relocate.
Since 1992, the new home has been the former Queensland Communist party headquarters on Barry Parade in Fortitude Valley. The walls overflow with posters celebrating past gigs, alongside those bearing sharper political messages.
One poster reads “Fred Nile is insane,” another proclaims “In league with Satan.” A third promotes the 1988 fees boycott—“be there!”—and all of these survive as reminders of the station’s 50-year legacy on air.
As you climb the creaky stairs, you pass a tribute to the late Jon Baird, who helped launch the predecessors to Locked In, a program broadcast for inmates. The station’s history includes the Prisoner’s Show (the former name), which gathered information from radical prisoners and relayed it on air during riots at Brisbane’s notorious Boggo Road jail. The resulting inquiry contributed to the jail’s closure in 1992. Locked In continues weekly, and jail-made artworks adorn a section of the wall.
Nearby, a modern poster highlights “pronoun etiquette,” instructing listeners: “Ask, don’t assume—not everyone uses the pronouns he or she.”
A common enemy and a shared mission
In today’s world of podcasts and eight-second TikTok clips, 4ZZZ resembles its early days—specifically December 8, 1975, when the late John Woods opened with the Who’s Won’t Get Fooled Again, the station’s inaugural track.
On the day Guardian Australia visits, Jack Montague debuts a fresh show, The Anti Room. “I’m a lefty with a love for gigs,” he explains, clarifying why he joined. It’s a classic, evergreen motive.
When 4ZZZ started broadcasting in 1975, Brisbane stood as an exceptionally conservative city. Midway through a 32-year National Party government, it was described by some as a “security city” under a police state.
Journalist Andrew Stafford, whose book Pig City chronicles Brisbane’s music scene, notes that 4ZZZ was for decades one of the few stations championing local bands, with the local scene deeply intertwined with politics.
Stafford recalls that the 1980s Bjelke-Petersen era—during which police raids on concerts were common and the drummer for the Dead Kennedys was arrested after a 1983 show—provided 4ZZZ with a powerful, shared adversary. “Back then, Triple Zed stood as a lone resistance voice against the era’s worst excesses, and it played a vital role in documenting those excesses,” he says. “Today it isn’t a solitary voice, but one among many in a crowded, fragmented media landscape.”
A central fixture for Brisbane’s radical communities
4ZZZ has long embraced diverse grassroots groups. It began airing LGBTQI content as early as 1978, a time when police still pursued charges against men for their sexuality. In the 1990s, Queer Radio joined forces with Dykes On Mykes, and in 2022 the station launched Tranzmission, a show for the transgender community. Ez Dos Santos, the show’s executive producer, presenter, and founder, describes Tranzmission as among the country’s first of its kind and notes it gained renewed significance after Queensland’s public hospital gender-affirming care ban for young people.
“We’ve had listeners drop by to tell us the show saved their lives,” Dos Santos says.
Former station manager Jack McDonnell describes sustaining 4ZZZ as something of a minor miracle, thanks largely to a steady stream of volunteers who pitch in with maintenance, production, and hosting. “We keep going with very limited funds,” he admits.
As 4ZZZ reaches its 50th year, old friends are returning, and the station has organized a slate of commemorations—from concerts and an exhibition to a book, People Powered Radio: 50 Years of Australian Community Radio Station 4ZZZ. Co-authored by Heather Anderson, a Griffith University associate professor who has volunteered since 1991, the book highlights the station’s enduring influence.
McDonnell summarizes the station’s impact: “4ZZZ has sat at the heart of radical Brisbane for its entire existence. It arose from a conviction that alternative media should reach the public in a broader way. Since then, whenever there’s a need for a voice to challenge injustice and bullshit, 4ZZZ has been there. And I hope it always will be.”
Would you agree that community radio can still shape a city’s culture and politics, or has its role been eclipsed by digital media and larger outlets? Share your thoughts in the comments.
