Anne Webster (Mallee, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

WEBSTER () (): In my electorate of Mallee, poor connectivity continues to be a significant issue. The last time I counted, there were 520 black spots—a cause for great frustration for many people. Over the last two years in my office, many constituents have told me about the ongoing challenges that they experience.

Fred Siciliano is a stone fruit grower from Woorinen. He continues to put up with slow, unreliable and sometimes non-existent mobile coverage. As a small-business owner, Fred has invested vast sums of money in attempting to resolve the issues. Sadly, it has resulted in little improvement. Living in between two major phone towers, he frequently must leave his property to be able to conduct a virtual meeting with overseas clients. At times, he's had to stand on a chair or climb on a roof—I hear it over and over again—in order to get a signal. He's not alone. Many across Mallee endure the same thing. It is simply not good enough. The pandemic highlighted students learning from home issues, disrupted in virtual classrooms because their internet would drop out. Teachers, too, were struggling to conduct online classes because they couldn't get reliable reception at their homes.

I recently supported the member for Berowra's private member's bill that seeks to make telecommunications companies accountable for their poor coverage. The bill argued for telco executives to be personally liable for poor customer service and failure to meet the needs of customers. While the coalition government has invested $15 million to address poor connectivity in Mallee, many people remain disadvantaged with deficient services. Rural residents in Mallee often live long distances from towns and, when an emergency occurs, they cannot afford to be unable to access connectivity to call emergency services.

Under the proposed bill prepared by the member for Berowra, telco executives and companies would also be financially liable for preventable deaths caused through their inaction. Under this legislation, negligence will no longer be tolerated. We still have a long way to go to ensure every Australian has access to reliable connectivity wherever they are. But this government is working to deliver vital measures to make sure that we get there. The Liberal-National government has been on the front foot to address issues of coverage. This funding has seen 1,270 new base stations across Australia through the Mobile Black Spots Program. In Mallee alone, this program has delivered $9.5 million towards greater coverage across the electorate.

Regional communities need strong, reliable connectivity to do the simple things that urban residents are able to do consistently and have been able to for some time, things like connecting with family over the phone, working from home, using online business platforms and accessing emergency services. Each new mobile tower connects regional communities across Mallee to online services, increasing productivity and generating economic growth, which is why the government continues to invest in the Mobile Black Spot Program.

The government is also committed to bringing rural and regional communities up to speed in their access to telecommunications services. In this last week, almost 4,000 households in Mildura and Irymple became eligible for NBN upgrades so that they can access broadband internet with speeds consistent with residents in capital cities. These premises will now be able to access plans of up to one gigabyte per second—something we only dream of— using fibre-to-the-premises connections. These are internet plans they have previously not had access to. This rollout will create jobs in the community, ensure local businesses can access the speeds they need to thrive and improve connectivity for families across the entire region.

I met with NBN Co last week. They assure me that they continue to invest in products and technologies to meet connectivity needs and are committed to meeting the current and future broadband needs of households and businesses across regional Australia. This announcement shines a light on the broad work this government is doing to reach rural and regional communities with faster speed NBN connections that have a real and measurable impact on local communities. Improving telecommunications access and coverage is a priority for this side of the House. We will continue to work to address the concerns of Australians who endure inferior connectivity. The Morrison-Joyce government is committed to reducing the gap in telecommunications access for regional Australians.

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