Trish Cook (Bullwinkel, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Today I rise to speak in strong support of the Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (Universal Outdoor Mobile Obligation) Bill 2025. As the inaugural member for the new electorate of Bullwinkel, it's a profound honour to stand here today and advocate for a piece of legislation that will fundamentally change the lives of my constituents. My electorate is a vibrant, diverse and sprawling part of Western Australia. It is an electorate that stretches from the bustling, growing outer-suburb hubs of Forrestfield, Stratton, Gosnells and High Wycombe, where young families are building their futures, to the historic winding roads of the Kalamunda hills, Roleystone, Mundaring and further out into the expansive golden agricultural heartlands of York, Northam, Toodyay and Beverley.

Bullwinkel is an electorate named after Lieutenant Colonel Vivian Bullwinkel, a woman whose name is synonymous with extraordinary courage, resilience and an unwavering dedication to her fellow Australians. As a nurse myself for over four decades, I feel a deep connection to her legacy. She was a woman who understood that, in the most dire of circumstances, care and connection are what sustain us. It is in the same spirit of service and care that I approach my duties in this place. It is in that spirit that I speak to this legislation today, because, at its heart, this bill is about care and connection. It's about ensuring that no Australian is left behind or left alone when they most need help.

The Albanese government is committed to keeping Australians connected. This isn't just a slogan; it's the core principle of our policy agenda. Whether you're a commuter navigating the morning rush on Roe Highway, a small-business owner in Mundaring or a wheat belt farmer in the far reaches of the Avon Valley, there is one common thread that binds us all—the absolute necessity of staying connected. We live in a world where digital connectivity is no longer a luxury; it is a basic utility, as essential as water or electricity. This bill is a monumental step towards making that a reality for every person in every corner of our nation.

This government believes that every Australian should have access to baseline mobile voice and text services across the entire country. For too long, our national policy has treated universal service as a relic of the Copper Age. For decades, the focus was on the traditional landline, the fixed phone in the hallway, but the world has moved on. We have moved into a digital age where the phone in your pocket is your office, your bank, your map and, most crucially, your lifeline. Yet our legislation has lagged behind our reality, and this bill addresses that.

In Bullwinkel, as across Australia, we rely on telecommunications connectivity to support our families, our businesses and our communities. Connectivity is the bridge that allows a boutique cidermaker in the suburb of Carmel to reach global markets through social media and ecommerce. It's what allows a parent in Gidgegannup to check in on their children after school while they are still at work an hour away in the city. It allows our seniors in Northam to stay in touch with their grandkids, bridging the distance that often separates families in our vast state of Western Australia. Importantly, it is the critical infrastructure we use to seek help in an emergency.

Traditional mobile coverage is currently provided in areas where about 99 per cent of Australians work and live, and on paper that sounds like a near-perfect success story, but, for the people of Western Australia and specifically those in my electorate of Bullwinkel, that remaining one per cent of the population represents a massive portion of our geography. In fact, traditional mobile coverage currently covers only one-third of Australia's landmass.

Two-thirds of our continent is currently a no-go zone for standard mobile communication. This means that, in the vast majority of our country, it is currently impossible to make a triple zero call using traditional mobile services. As a remote area nurse for four decades, I have seen firsthand the reality of what happens when communication fails or if it is absent. I have seen the difference between a positive outcome and a tragedy, and so often that difference is the speed of the emergency response. When a farmer is working alone in a paddock near York and has an accident, they shouldn't have to hope that someone will find them in due course. They should have the security of knowing that they can reach out for help.

I think of the hikers exploring the Bibbulmun Track or the families cycling The Railway Reserves Heritage Trail. These are some of the jewels of the Perth Hills that brings tourism from all over the world, bringing life to our region. But if someone takes a fall or suffers a medical emergency on a remote part of these trails, that 99 per cent phone coverage statistic is of little comfort. What matters is the one per cent of the landmass that they're standing on. In those moments, a mobile black spot isn't just a minor annoyance for someone trying to check their emails; it's a life-threatening barrier to emergency services.

Improving coverage is a key concern for communities across Bullwinkel, and it's a priority for our government. The universal outdoor mobile obligation, or UOMO, will provide the underlying connectivity needed to support expanded triple zero access and support public safety outcomes in these areas. UOMO means that outdoor coverage will be accessible almost anywhere in Australia where people can see the sky. We are moving from a system based on where we can afford to build a tower to a system based on where a person has a clear line of sight to the sky above them. This is a profound shift. Whether you're facing a natural disaster—and in the Perth Hills and the Avon Valley we know the threat of bushfires all too well—or whether you're broken down on a remote stretch of the Great Eastern Highway, injured on a farm in Beverley or lost in the bushland behind Mundaring Weir or Roleystone, under UOMO there will be outdoor mobile coverage nearly anywhere that you can look up and see the sky.

The Albanese government has heard from stakeholders, from local councils, from emergency service volunteers—like the firefighters in Darlington—and from regional businesses about the importance of mobile services. We have heard, and the message is clear, that the current universal services framework is out of date. It is designed for a time when the internet was a novelty and mobile phones were the size of bricks—remember that? It does not cover the critical form of connectivity that modern Australians actually use.

This legislation will require the mobile network operators Telstra, TPG and Optus to provide universal baseline outdoor mobile coverage where reasonably possible. We're setting a national standard. We're saying that, as a country, we will no longer accept that being out of range is just an inevitable part of living outside a capital city or being an MP for a regional area. It is anticipated that these operators will meet this obligation via a combination of our existing terrestrial infrastructure and the incredible new direct-to-device, or D2D, technology, which is available from the LEOs, the low-Earth-orbit satellites. This is the frontier of telecommunications. By using satellites that orbit much closer to the Earth than traditional ones, we can enable a standard mobile phone to connect directly to space. This bypasses the need for a physical tower in every valley and on every hill, which certainly doesn't work for Bullwinkel.

This reform is not about replacing traditional mobile phone coverage. In places like Gosnells, High Wycombe or Forrestfield we still need our towers and our high-speed 5G to support suburban growth. UOMO is about expanding the safety net. It's about reaching the areas where, despite years of government and industry co-investment, it simply hasn't been feasible to build a physical tower due to the terrain or the sheer distance.

D2D is an emerging technology. It is being rolled out right now in Australia and across the globe. Some may say that we should wait until it's fully mature before we legislate, but this government refuses to wait. We refuse to let regional Australians wait for the market to decide when they are worth the investment. We are legislating now to ensure this critical technology is deployed as widely and quickly as possible so that all Australians can benefit from this innovation.

Given the emerging nature of D2D technology, this bill sets a default date for the commencement of the UOMO of 1 December 2027. This provides a clear timeframe while allowing the flexibility to adjust the date to ensure the market is ready. Make no mistake: this timing, whilst challenging, provides a clear signal to the market. Equitable and accessible outdoor mobile coverage is a priority for this government, and we want these services to be available as soon as possible. We aren't sitting around waiting for the digital divide to fix itself; we are acting early to ensure Australia is at the forefront of this technological revolution.

This legislation brings mobile services into the longstanding universal services regime. For too long this regime only covered the legacy copper-based voice services. By updating this framework we are creating a system that can protect consumers and ensure mobile services are delivered in the national interest. If industry does not deliver, the government now has a framework to ensure that they do. This is a critical part of our comprehensive work to reduce the digital divide. In Bullwinkel, the digital divide is a daily reality. For businesses in Chidlow, it's the difference between being able to operate efficiently and having to struggle with basic connectivity. It's about a student in Northam having the same educational opportunities as a student in Perth.

Improving connectivity isn't just about safety; it's about productivity and economic growth. Our ag sector in the Avon Valley is becoming increasingly high-tech. Farmers are using data driven insights to manage their crops and livestock. But you can't use ag tech without a connection. By expanding mobile coverage, we are supporting the growth of our regional economies and ensuring that they can compete in the 21st century.

UOMO also builds on our other major investments. We have invested in the NBN to ensure faster, reliable internet for homes and businesses. We have focused on First Nations digital inclusion to ensure our Indigenous communities are not left behind. We have worked tirelessly to strengthen the triple 0 framework. This bill is the missing piece of that puzzle.

Our vision is absolutely clear: making Australia the most connected continent in the world. To the people I represent in Bullwinkel: I know how much this matters to you. I have sat in your kitchens in Mundaring and walked through the paddocks in York. I have spoken to firefighters at Darlington and Glen Forrest. I remember the stories from the Wooroloo fires in 2021, where the ability to receive an emergency alert and call a loved one was the difference between panic and safety. And I know the frustration of the one-bar signal that drops out just when you need it most.

This is a landmark reform. It is a bold step forward that embraces the future and puts people first, and I'm immensely proud to support this legislation. I'm proud to be part of the government that is finally delivering the connectivity that regional Australia deserves, because Labor understands the regions. I commend this bill to the House.

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