Jess Teesdale (Bass, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on telecommunications in regional Australia. This is a matter of real importance to the communities that I represent in Bass and across regional, rural and remote Australia. In 2025, telecommunications are absolutely not a luxury; they are an essential service. From a farmer in the Tamar Valley using agtech to monitor water levels to a student in George Town learning online to a mill worker in Branxholm who's connecting to a telehealth appointment, the ability to get that reliable service determines whether people can live, work and thrive within our regions.

But, as the 2024 Regional Telecommunications Independent Review Committee made clear, too many Australians do still face challenges. The committee conducted more than 20 consultations and received over 300 written submissions and over 3,000 survey responses, an impressive effort—well done. This report has set out 14 recommendations that focus on affordability, mobile capacity, resilience, connectivity literacy and digital inclusion. The committee's work highlights clearly what we already hear on the ground in Bass: mobile network congestion is rising, affordability is a concern and many people are actually unaware of the different connectivity options that are available to them. Tasmania in particular continues to face digital exclusion, with the Australian Digital Inclusion Index ranking our state below the national average on all things—access, affordability and digital ability. TasCOSS have noted that Tasmania also recorded the lowest digital literacy and skill score in the country. We have a lot of work to do.

I am pleased that our government, the Albanese Labor government, has made record investments in this space since 2022 through a $1.1 billion Better Connectivity Plan for Regional and Rural Australia. It is the single largest investment in regional communications since the rollout of the NBN. In Bass, this is already making a difference. We've got seven new mobile base stations that have been delivered and two new towers currently underway at Grindelwald and along the West Tamar Highway, along with a further $2.3 million committed. Battery backup systems have been installed at three sites to improve resilience during natural disasters, and in 2026 Tasmania will be the first state to access NBN's low-Earth-orbit satellite service, bringing high speeds and lower latency to communities currently on legacy satellite services.

I can speak very clearly to how important this will be. I was having a bit of an adventure when I was working remotely. My car broke down on the Arnhem Highway for two days. I am very lucky that we didn't have a crash. I'm also very lucky that I'm a little bit of a prepper at heart. We had water, food and a satphone. But unfortunately, at that time, if you had run out of data you couldn't actually restore that from your satphone device, so we were completely isolated. Two days on that road in April was really tough. The weather conditions were poor and not a single person drove past. So these low-Earth-orbit-satellite services will help save lives. That is absolutely key. We have a particular area in regional Bass that is notorious for car crashes. It's a dirt road, it is very remote and there is no service. This will save lives, and I'm really excited to see this come about.

The government is also committed to responding formally to the RTIRC report, in line with the telecommunications act 1999. While the timeline has been affected by the 2025 federal election and caretaker period, the minister has made clear that the recommendations remain under active consideration. It's a matter of process and not neglect, and the government response will reflect the seriousness and thoroughness of the committee's work. Importantly, telecommunications policy is not just about infrastructure; it's also about confidence and inclusion. People need to know what services are available, how to us them and how to stay connected. That is why programs like the Regional Tech Hub, community wi-fi initiatives and connectivity literacy training are essential, alongside the infrastructure investment.

Telecommunications are vital for regional prosperity, safety and participation. I thank the committee for its work, I commend the Minister for Communications for her leadership and I look forward to continuing to work with my community and the government to ensure that every corner of Bass and every corner of regional and remote Australia is connected and ready for the future.

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