I move:

That this House:

(1) notes that:

(a) Australia's three major telecommunications providers commenced Temporary Disaster Roaming (TDR) on 1 October 2026 as a measure intended to improve communications during natural disasters affecting regional and remote communities;

(b) TDR can only operate where an alternative mobile network remains available and has sufficient capacity to accept additional users during a disaster event;

(c) many regional, rural and remote Australian communities continue to rely on a single mobile network provider, meaning TDR cannot operate when that network fails;

(d) reliable telecommunications are critical during bushfires, floods and other emergencies, providing access to emergency warnings, evacuation information, emergency services and family communications; and

(e) forecasts of elevated bushfire risk across many regional areas have reinforced the importance of resilient telecommunications infrastructure ahead of the 2026-27 summer season; and

(2) calls on the Government to:

(a) immediately identify those regional, rural and remote communities where TDR is unlikely to operate during a network outage;

(b) provide a comprehensive strategy to improve telecommunications resilience in disaster-prone regions;

(c) accelerate investment in mobile coverage, backup power systems and network redundancy across regional Australia; and

(d) report to Parliament on measures being taken to ensure regional Australians are not left without communications during life-threatening emergency events.

I rise to bring this motion because functional telecommunications save lives. They also should never be optional, but in our day and age they absolutely are. As another bushfire season approaches, regional Australians deserve far greater confidence than the Albanese government is currently providing.

The government has promoted temporary disaster roaming as a major step forward for regional telecommunications resilience. While any additional protection is welcome, the reality is that this system has significant limitations that many Australians simply do not understand. Temporary disaster roaming only works when there is at least one other network tower available, so one is not enough. You actually need two if you're going to have the temporary disaster roaming function. That sounds simple enough until you consider the reality of regional Australia. Across large areas of my electorate of Mallee, and indeed across regional Australia, communities are often served by only one mobile network, and at times an unreliable one at that. If that network fails during a bushfire, storm or flood, there may be no alternative network available for residents to connect to. In those circumstances, temporary disaster roaming offers absolutely no solution. That is the uncomfortable truth the government has failed to acknowledge.

For city residents, losing mobile reception can be frustrating. For regional Australians, losing comms during a disaster can mean missing an evacuation order, being unable to receive emergency warnings, losing contact with family members or being unable to call for assistance. In the worst cases, it can have devastating impacts, with the loss of life. After the first national emergency warning test of AusAlert on 27 July this year, constituents reached out to me concerned they didn't get the message. I am sure the shadow minister for emergency management will have more to say on our emergency preparedness under Labor. When a fire is moving quickly and conditions are changing by the minute, reliable comms are every bit as important as roads, emergency services and power infrastructure. Regional Australians understand this because they've lived through network outages during floods, storms and bushfires. Regional Australians know—sadly, all too often under Labor—what it means to be utterly cut off.

The temporary disaster roaming system falls short of the universal safety net many believe should be delivered. The real challenge is not simply creating a mechanism for networks to share coverage during emergencies. The challenge is ensuring regional Australia has sufficient telecommunications infrastructure, coverage and redundancy, full stop. If a regional community is dependent on a single network and that network goes down, temporary disaster, roaming will be of zero use. Those affected remain disconnected, exposing them to further vulnerability and risk.

For too long, regional telecommunications have been treated as a secondary priority. Yet every summer we ask regional Australians to confront bushfires, severe storms and floods with fewer services and less infrastructure than their metropolitan counterparts, and, more so, we expect our locals in the regions to actually do the firefighting. This is unacceptable. A postcode should not determine whether someone can receive an emergency warning. A postcode should not determine whether someone can contact their family during a disaster. And a postcode should not determine whether someone can call for help when their life is in danger.

Farming communities across my electorate contribute enormously to our national economy, our food security and our country life. Justice says they ought to have the same safety and connectivity as every other Australian. The government must provide a clear plan to address the communities that remain outside the reach of the industry's temporary disaster roaming where there is only one telco or, worse, none. Labor must invest in network resilience, back-up power capability, redundancy and comms infrastructure that truly operates as critical infrastructure, because when bushfires— (Time expired)