Jamie Chaffey (Parkes, National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Agriculture) Share this | Hansard source

Communication is one of the most fundamental building blocks of what it means to be a human. For those who live in cities, where you might have hundreds of neighbours in the same building, there are many ways and means of reaching out, for sending a message or for calling for help. But for those in the bush, for those across the huge electorate of Parkes, and for many Australians in other parts of the country that are not centred around a capital city, communication is a huge challenge. For someone who has chest pains on a property outside Wilcannia or who breaks down out the back of Bourke, there are no neighbours. Sadly, this is where telecommunications continue to let regional people down. In this lucky country, this country of opportunity and innovation, the people who produce our food and fibre and the minerals, and the people who work hard and look after the land cannot make a simple phone call.

There are times when businessowners in Gilgandra must walk out into the streets to allow their customers to pay with a credit card. There are times when people running businesses from their regional home cannot log on to finalise transactions, cannot lodge their business activity statements and cannot fill in necessary employment or government forms. People cannot coordinate logistics, use modern GPS tools or check on their loved ones. When emergencies strike, regional people are often on their own. They cannot connect to triple zero, and, if they can, the failure of technology often critically adds time to the location needed during an emergency. Sadly, this is not hypothetical; people have died.

This goes beyond inconvenience. It goes to the very core of what it is to connect with others, to be part of the lives of your family and friends, to be able to run your business in a professional way and to know that you are safe in all situations. Regional Australians do not ask for something that any person in any other country does not expect. I've heard from people across the Parkes electorate about the problems the lack of reliable telecommunications are causing them every single day. Some of these stories are tragic. Others show that, once again, regional Australians face almost insurmountable challenges just to open a business and to fulfill their dreams to serve those in their communities. As recently as last week I held a network connectivity roundtable in Walgett, where the frustrations of farmers who've struggled for years to find reliable telecommunications were abundantly clear. They have trusted in the advice they've received and purchased expensive plants, expensive handsets and expensive equipment only to find out that it's out of date, not fit for purpose or just doesn't work. We continue to hear about exciting new technology, but, time after time, it's followed by all the reasons it won't work in regional Australia or wouldn't be accessible to ordinary Australians.

Regional Australians have had enough of announcements and enough of promises. They just need reliable telecommunications. It is time for moves in this direction to get real. We need practical, reliable and affordable solutions that work for all Australians. As we look at this bill, we must look at it through the lens of this government's track record and through its poor performance in making telecommunications work. Let's not forget the wonder that was the 3G shutdown. The 3G shutdown left people isolated. People were forced into updating their phones, some unnecessarily, and businesses were left without connection and without support. This was a planned event, an outcome that was chosen. It was surrounded by confusion and absolute failure. The trust of regional Australians has been lost. I know myself that on my travels around the electorate connection is sparse and often non-existent. Many people have been forced into using expensive Starlink, causing concerns of having one real supplier being available.

Under the Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (Universal Outdoor Mobile Obligation) Bill 2025, there is some impressive sounding jargon. Let's take a look at it. It says:

This a significant and important reform that will bring mobile services within the universal services framework.

…   …   …

The UOMO will require the national Mobile Network Operators … currently, Telstra Limited, Optus Mobile Pty Limited and TPG Telecom Limited, to deliver baseline outdoor coverage across Australia.

It sounds good, but I have a number of concerns with this. One is that there is quite a lot of talk of direct-to-device technology here delivering over low-orbit satellite platforms. I'm reliably informed that this technology may not be readily available to fully roll out in the timeline that has been allocated. That's a pretty epic fail and a shady reminder of Labor's unachievable net zero target. I'm also concerned about one element of this technology: you still cannot call triple zero. Currently, the technology allows satellite-to-messaging capability, but you cannot message triple zero. It's another epic fail.

We are legislating here ahead of this technology actually being in use or even being fully developed. I quote again:

Currently SMS services are available in a number of countries on certain handsets, including in Australia, and voice services are expected to follow.

Further along, we have a caveat that makes even more nonsense of this bill. It says:

… the Bill includes a power for the Minister to determine circumstances when it would not be reasonable to make mobile coverage available …

In one short document, we've gone from universal coverage to coverage if the technology is invented to coverage if the technology is invented, providing you have the right handset, to coverage if the technology is invented, you have the right handset and the minister thinks it's a good idea. Is it any wonder this Labor government has lost the trust of those in regional Australia, many of whom are trying to run a business and a family with one hand tied behind their backs and the other up in the air trying to get a signal?

Regional Australia is our backbone. Again, it's where we grow our food and fibre and harvest our minerals. It is what sets us apart from other countries. Yes, it presents challenges. Isn't it time we told regional Australians that we are up for the challenge and that we value everything they are to our country? Isn't it time we stopped switching off technology without knowing the full impact and before something that works is in place? Isn't it time we invested a little of our nation in connecting Australians wherever they might live? We cannot continue to focus all of the government's time and Australians' money in the cities alone. We are all Australians and we all deserve to be able to connect with our loved ones and to do business the best way that we possibly can. We all deserve to be able to reach out and find help in those times of greatest need.

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