Cathy McGowan (Indi, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I present a petition that has been approved by the House. This petition has been signed by residents and visitors in and near the Victorian rural towns of Tatong, Molyullah, Lurg and Samaria in my electorate of Indi. The intention of the petition is to draw the House's attention to the serious deficiencies in telecommunications infrastructure in the region. Residents in these communities have little or no access to mobile phone coverage. They also want me to highlight, as has been highlighted numerous times in this place, the inequality between rural and regional telecommunications infrastructure and infrastructure in metropolitan areas. They ask the House to provide funds which would assist in the establishment of a new mobile phone tower.

I support the sentiments of this petition. While the $100 million slated to fix black spots throughout the country is a good first step, it will not come close to solving our communities' black spot issues. A call on the government to consider the extent of this need and move to provide more funding for black spot mitigation throughout rural and regional Australia.

The petition read as follows—

To the Honourable The Speaker and Members of the House of Representatives

This petition of residents and visitors in and near the Victorian rural towns of Tatong, Molyullah, Lurg and Samaria draws to the attention of the House to the serious deficiencies in telecommunications infrastructure in the region. Residents in these communities have little or no access to mobile phone coverage. This is evidence of a marked inequity in communication services available between rural and urban citizens. Telecommunication companies refuse to make any new infrastructure investments due to the low population density in the region and lack of commercial return.

We therefore ask the House to acknowledge the serious problems associated with the absence of mobile phone coverage in the area and to make available funds which would assist in the establishment of a new mobile phone tower.

from 990 citizens

Petition received.