Matt Smith (Leichhardt, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak on the motion moved by the member for Mallee. I'm glad to have the opportunity to talk about telecommunications, especially given my electorate and its struggles to get solid phone coverage. I can say with absolute certainty that everyone on this side wants and supports better telecommunications, especially for the regions. We can say that with confidence because we didn't try to downgrade the NBN the first chance we got.

You should have access to quality communication services no matter where you live. Be it Canberra or Cairns, Sydney or Seisia, Melbourne or Mapoon, you deserve good coverage. Sadly, that is not the case. My electorate is vast, it is empty and there is not a lot of coverage. Ninety-seven per cent of Leichhardt has no mobile phone coverage. I could make jokes about how, when I drive to Coen or Bamaga or Weipa and spend nine to 12 hours on dirt roads, my Spotify doesn't work and whoever is driving with me has to listen to my singing, but that's not really the point. It's dangerous. It's always been dangerous, and there has never been coverage there. It doesn't matter how many Gs you put in front of it.

I've been in this role for six months. We've got commitments to get low-orbit satellites and to get 100 per cent of Leichhardt covered with mobile coverage, from three per cent. That's not on this government; that's on every previous government: 97 per cent without coverage. That's impacting health, education, transport, small business—all the things that the other side claimed to support but ignored. There were regions that mattered, but apparently mine didn't.

That's why we in Labor are investing in telecommunications: $55 million for round 8 of the Mobile Black Spot Program; $50 million for Regional Roads Australia Mobile pilot programs; just over $115 million towards 74 projects that respond to local priorities with the objective of maximising economic opportunities and social benefits for regional and remote communities, as part of round 3 of the Regional Connectivity Program; and, as part of two successful rounds of the On Farm Connectivity Program, over $30.4 million in rebates, delivering thousands of connectivity solutions for primary producers, with another $20 million committed to round 3 of the program.

Connectivity doesn't just mean phones; it increases the yield of our farmers. Our cane growers are now using connectivity to check their crops, understand their run-off and make sure they can handle their pests. It is also part of the Better Connectivity Plan for Regional and Rural Australia, which will deliver $1.1 billion from 2022-23 to 2029-30. The 3G shutdown, for better or worse, is happening. It's no good looking back; we should look forward, and there's no doubt that Australians in some of the particularly regional and rural areas are experiencing poorer connectivity because of this. But this was a commercial decision made by Telstra, Optus and Vodafone, and it seems that more often than not the opposition's answer to everything is to blame the government or the Prime Minister regardless of whose decision it was. So, while they try and pin private commercial decisions on us, I wonder what else we can get blamed for here. Fantales were discontinued. I miss them dearly. Is that Albo's fault?

Unlike those opposite, when something is impacting Australians, we step up. Since the 3G shutdown, the former communications minister convened a roundtable with the telecommunications industry, regulators and consumer advocates to reflect on Australia's 3G switch-off. This allowed discussions to happen about what we can do better when Australia transfers to new technologies in the future. We will give the people the reception that they need and that they deserve, and that they needed and deserved a decade ago. The action is being taken now.

We're looking forward in the communications—there is a big policy push that will help and that's a universal outdoor mobile obligation. The UOMO—that's a mouthful—will require Telstra, Optus and TPG to provide access to outdoor mobile SMS and voice coverage right across Australia. They will be able to leverage their existing mobile networks or use low-Earth-orbit satellites using direct-to-device technology. This is the change that is needed in regional areas. This is the change that is going to make a difference to the kids studying in Aurukun. This is going to make travel in the cape safer should you blow out a tyre or hit a pig. This is going to allow health to be done over telehealth, giving better health outcomes. It is great news for my community.

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