Anne Webster (Mallee, National Party, Shadow Minister for Regional Development, Local Government and Territories) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) notes that:

(a) the 3G telecommunications network was switched off on the Government's watch in 2024;

(b) the interim report of the Senate inquiry into the shutdown made clear recommendations about the impending shutdown, recommending that the Government delay the shutdown until it was satisfied that 'the 4G network provides coverage equivalent to or better than the coverage provided by the licensee's 3G network';

(c) the Government relied on the assurances of commercial operators to ensure equivalent mobile coverage after the shutdown but despite promises, regional Australians have been detrimentally affected and thousands of consumers have been left with worse, or no, coverage at all;

(d) furthermore, there have been reports of poor handling of consumer complaints about their loss of service post 3G shutdown; and

(e) the Government has failed to take responsibility for the fallout of the 3G shutdown in regional Australia, and its response to the final report by the Senate into the shutdown was again lazy and noncommittal, failing to agree to any new actions; and

(2) calls upon the Minister for Communications to take responsibility for the botched 3G shutdown and its impact on the connectivity of regional Australians by:

(a) providing transparency regarding the crowdsourcing component of the National Audit of Mobile Coverage and expanding it to include off-road areas (including on private land such as farming and grazing properties) to ensure an accurate picture of the impact of the shutdown on mobile coverage is attained; and

(b) thoroughly addressing the first recommendation of the final Senate inquiry report to 'establish a program to help customers that have lost mobile phone coverage since the 3G shutoff'.

The shutdown of the 3G telecommunications network in 2024 has been nothing short of a disaster for regional communities, and the government's response has been woefully inadequate. I rise today to speak on behalf of regional Australians across this country, who have been left behind again by the Albanese Labor government when it comes to access to telecommunications services. Let me be clear: while the decision to shut down the 3G network was made by commercial operators—TPG in January 2024, followed by Optus and Telstra in October—it was the Albanese government's responsibility to ensure that regional Australians would not be worse off. The Senate inquiry into the shutdown made that abundantly clear. The government should have delayed the shutdown until it was satisfied that the 4G network provided coverage equivalent to, or better than, 3G. But, instead of taking action, the government relied on the promises of telcos—promises that have proven hollow.

Thousands of Australians, particularly in rural and remote areas, now face worse coverage or no coverage at all. Phones drop to SOS mode. Medical alarms have failed. Farmers are left without connectivity on their properties. This is not just inconvenient; it is dangerous. The impacts have been widespread. Devices that relied on 3G, such as ag tech tools, security systems and life-saving medical equipment, have been rendered useless. People are forced to install expensive satellite systems, like Starlink, just to stay connected—all of this during a cost-of-living crisis, where regional Australians pay the same for mobile plans as city dwellers but receive a far inferior service.

The government's response to the Senate inquiry's final report was lazy and non-committal. Labor have failed to agree to any new actions. They have failed to take responsibility and they have failed regional Australians.

The Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman received over 51,000 complaints from regional consumers between 2021 and 2024. These complaints ranged from poor service quality and outages to accessibility barriers and unresolved faults. Some constituents have reported faults for years without any improvement. Others were misled into signing up for services that simply don't work where they live.

This is unacceptable. The Senate committee made two key recommendations in their final report that must be acted upon immediately by Minister Wells and the Albanese government: The first was to establish a program to help customers who lost mobile coverage due to the 3G shutdown. This program should be co-funded by government and industry and include subsidies for connectivity equipment—boosters, satellite services and replacements for obsolete devices. Secondly, they should expand the national audit of mobile coverage to include off-road areas, including private land such as farms and grazing properties. This data must be collected from consumers, cross-referenced with telco data and published in an accessible format. I call on the Minister for Communications to take responsibility for this botched shutdown.

We need transparency, we need action and we need a government that listens and acts for regional Australians. The Prime Minister likes to say, on repeat: 'No-one held back. No-one left behind.' We all know the saying. But every regional Australian knows he doesn't mean it. When it comes to mobile connectivity—a bit like roads—we have been held back; we have been left behind. It is time for the Albanese government to stop ignoring the regions and start fixing the mess they helped create. Regional Australians deserve better. They deserve reliable mobile coverage. They deserve to be heard.

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