Scott Buchholz (Wright, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I appreciate the comments from the member for Blair. I will make my contribution to the good mayor in another part of the proceedings so that I am afforded more time to give him the honour he deserves as a mayor.

Today, I would like to raise the importance of the NBN for my area. In particular, I am pleased to announce that the residents of Flagstone, Cedar Creek, Cedar Vale, Mundoolun, Jimboomba and South Maclean are on the doorstep of accessing the National Broadband Network, with construction of the fixed line network now well and truly underway.

On Friday, I visited a site in Flagstone where some very exciting and long-awaited new NBN infrastructure was being installed. On the day, I met with our new local chamber of commerce president, Kerry Menck, who understands how badly the NBN is needed by residents and local business owners. At the moment, many local businesses are relying on very expensive and often unreliable wireless internet or on a very congested satellite service. The improvement to fixed line services from the NBN will mean a world of difference to these residents. The rollout of the NBN in Flagstone and surrounding regions is one of the first locations for the new accelerated rollout plan for my electorate. By the end of 2018, up to 75 per cent of the electorate will have fast, reliable fixed line or wireless services under the NBN. This is great news for locals, especially when you consider the NBN was not planned for Wright until 2020. I would like to acknowledge Trevina Schwarz, a local councillor, who was present for the rollout.