Michelle Landry (Capricornia, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House notes:

(1) the Government's $220 million commitment to fixing mobile phone blackspots in regional Australia;

(2) that rounds 1 and 2 of the Mobile Black Spot Program have led to many positive outcomes for regional and remote Australians through the rollout of 765 towers; and

(3) that when in Government, Labor failed to set aside appropriate funds to help improve mobile phone coverage in regional and remote Australia.

In this day and age, most people in urban Australia take it for granted that you can use your mobile phone to do almost anything—ordering the groceries, doing the business payroll, ordering a taxi and sometimes even making a phone call. Australians living in major cities and towns would be lost without their handheld devices. People in regional and remote Australia have had to contend with modernisation without the tools to help them.

Mobile connectivity is a critical part of daily social and business interaction, and it is vital for personal safety. But it was never afforded the time of day by the Labor government. Balancing commercial viability with service necessity is an ongoing challenge for infrastructure investment in regional Australia. Labor buried their heads in the sand, and the coalition is fixing the problem.

Until the coalition came into power, mobile phone connectivity was sorely neglected. Over $200 million has been committed to fix this inequity. We invested an additional $60 million to cover black-spot locations that have not received funding, including locations overlooked by mobile network operators because they were uncommercial. In fact, we have been so determined to address the issue that the funds committed in current rounds have exhausted construction capacity. It will take around two years for current construction to be completed on these towers, and my government will continue to support ongoing rollout.

Let us look at the figures under the coalition: 4,400 black spots are being covered; 765 phone towers are being delivered; and there are 83,300 kilometres of new handheld coverage. Under Labor: zero, zero, and zero. Labor say they are all for helping the vulnerable, yet they fail to deliver or budget for anything of merit to assist them. The Turnbull-Joyce government is making a real difference, helping regional Australia to overcome the barriers of distance, communication and technology.

Up to 21 of the 71 mobile black spots nominated in Capricornia are being addressed. In the last two years, we have seen funding for 10 new mobile phone towers or major upgrades to existing towers allocated across Capricornia, and that is just in Capricornia. Across Australia, these commitments under rounds 1 and 2 of the coalition's Mobile Black Spot Program will improve mobile coverage along major transport routes, in small communities and in locations prone to experiencing natural disasters. Further coverage will be provided by handheld or external antennas to all parts of the Livingstone, Isaac, Pioneer Valley, Sarina and Mackay districts.

On 9 May this year, I visited the Clarke Creek State School to see the damage caused by Cyclone Debbie. The school was in a terrible state, but there was one beacon of light: the brand new mobile phone tower just near the school stood bright and undamaged. I can assure you, Deputy Speaker, that the magical five bars are a welcome relief to this community and not taken for granted. The kids in Clarke Creek can now have the world at their fingertips, research their school assignments online and, yes, annoy mum by incessantly playing Candy Crush.

Producers can check cattle prices while out fixing a fence. Parents can now call to say they are running late or book medical appointments while waiting for the kids to finish school. Some of these activities may seem frivolous, but for regional Australians this is a novelty.

Most importantly, it increases connectivity and productivity for regional Australia. It gives regional Australians a chance to create, to study and to grow, just as their city compatriots can do. I applaud the coalition government for evening out the playing field and giving the regions a chance to grow.

Mark Coulton (Parkes, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is there a seconder for this motion?

Andrew Hastie (Canning, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There is, and I reserve my right to speak.

Rebekha Sharkie (Mayo, Nick Xenophon Team) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There is no doubt that the government's Mobile Black Spot Program has led to positive outcomes in regional Australia. There are many country communities that are more connected and much safer as a result of the rollout of the 765 towers in rounds 1 and 2. However, from where I stand as a representative of the regional communities of Mayo, the program has only addressed a fraction of the need in rural Australia. The fact that there are no further rounds in the budget beyond round 3 is just ridiculous.

If the government believe they have addressed mobile phone coverage across our nation, they are misinformed. On a drive from north to south across the mainland portion of my electorate from Springton to Cape Jervis, I will drop out of mobile phone coverage at least 10 times, and many of those periods are quite extended, beyond 15 minutes of driving. On Kangaroo Island outside the townships, the coverage is sporadic at best. And, as my electorate discovered to its detriment earlier this year, the allocation of taxpayer money for this program has overlooked a significant problem of limited battery storage when the mobile phone towers run out of power. The power is always cut on extreme bushfire days, so you have this incredibly dangerous situation in high-risk bushfire areas where there is no mobile telecommunications on our most catastrophic days.

In February 2016, the government announced $60 million for round 2 of the mobile phone black-spot funding. This funding equated to 266 new mobile phone tower stations. South Australia was granted just 20 of these nominated sites and Mayo received just two, at Stokes Bay, on Kangaroo Island, and Parawa, on the Fleurieu Peninsula. These are very deserving locations, but we need so many more. At the beginning of round 1 in December 2014, there were 133 mobile black-spot sites identified in Mayo, but by the end of round 2 we had just three allocations.

Our community needs and deserves full coverage. Our hills, escarpment and dense bushland make driving on our country roads dangerous, and we are, sadly, known as a region that has had its fair share of bushfires. This program must go beyond round 3. It is unacceptable for the government to leave regional Australia behind. We are a vast country, and it is premature for the government to think that mobile phone coverage in regional Australia will be complete by round 3, so I will continue to advocate for this program. In my region alone, 44 priority sites out of 130 nominations in Mayo need the chance of coverage.

I will also be seeking answers to the questions I have previously raised in parliament about the limited battery storage capabilities in mobile phone towers, particularly in high-risk areas. It is unacceptable that towers go out after just four hours of battery storage and that it is inevitable that we will lose power. We need at least 12 hours of storage. Telecommunication is our survival key. Fibre-to-the-node and fixed wireless NBN only works when we have power. When it is a catastrophic day, we lose power, so we lose our ability to communicate with the outside world. This is effectively leaving people in my community stranded.

Last year over the Christmas period, in the middle of the fire danger season, in my communities of Mylor, Echunga, Scott Creek, Bridgewater and Aldgate we lost power for days, not hours. Besides many practical hardships such as not being able to flush toilets or pump drinking water, these communities lost contact with the rest of the world. Besides sighting smoke, we had no idea if a fire was coming. Most of the mobile phone towers in the area failed within just a few hours, and batteries at the phone exchange also went down. As many of the parts of the area have fibre to the node, households lost their landlines immediately.

I call on the government with round 3 and any future rounds—and I do hope that this continues—to make sure that we have at least 12 hours of battery storage. This will improve the program. I think that it is only fair that we expect telcos to do this when we are providing them with taxpayer funds. The Mobile Black Spot Program, as the member for Capricornia said, has delivered many good outcomes for regional and remote Australia, but it must continue because regional and rural Australia should not be left behind.

Andrew Hastie (Canning, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is a common story in my electorate that residents have slow, unreliable internet, poor-quality landlines and little to no mobile phone coverage. This is in part due to the geography of Canning. It is defined by a coastline, hills, forests and farmland. It is also due to the rapid expansion of the region's population over a short period of time—by something like 45,000 people in the last decade. But mostly it is due to a former Labor government that failed to adequately address the problem. Infrastructure has not kept pace with growth in Canning, which is why I am focusing on improving roads and rail and, today, as we are talking about it, telecommunications.

Already the coalition government is helping to deliver better internet to Canning through the NBN rollout. Of the 67,000 homes in Canning, over a third are already connected to the NBN, with more expected to connect in the coming months. But perhaps more critical to the people of Canning is the number of mobile phone black spots across the electorate. Today most people have a mobile phone, and it is near impossible to live without one. But I have heard time and again from my constituents that they get better mobile phone coverage in countries like Thailand and Indonesia than they do at home where they live, and they are not wrong. I myself have had better mobile phone reception in the jungles of Papua New Guinea just outside Lae.

There are mobile phone black spots all over Canning—in the northern hills areas and around Martin and Karragullen. Last week I met with Dale Miller, Dave and Elaine Wainscoat, Gordon Brockway and others in Martin. They had to fork out $2,000 for an external antenna to improve their coverage, despite being less than 40 kilometres from the Perth CBD. On the outskirts of towns like Byford, Mundijong, Serpentine and Jarrahdale, people also struggle for mobile phone reception. To the far east, between Dwellingup and Boddington, there are also issues. In fact, ministers who have visited Canning drop out of reach for about 15 to 20 minutes as they head to Boddington—a welcome relief for some. In the south, around Lake Clifton, we also have black spots.

At best, these black spots are a hindrance to productivity for business owners in Canning—many of whom operate from their homes—but it is a severe limiter for people who want to grow a business, educate remotely and, indeed, catch up with family and friends who live on the east coast or elsewhere around the world. At worst, they are a threat to personal safety. For some older residents, no mobile phone reception at home and no landline in some cases means the only way of communicating with family is to drive five to 10 kilometres down towards town. I think of Mr Orlando, who had to move out of Canning because of poor health and even poorer mobile phone coverage.

For others living in bushfire prone areas, mobile phone black spots are a serious threat to their lives. I think of Hugh and Erica Scott. Their home phone has only worked for six weeks out of the 11 months since the Waroona bushfires around Christmas of 2015-16. There was very little mobile phone coverage, and they were told by Telstra to buy an external antenna to improve their coverage. Their home phone was finally connected as of Anzac Day 2017—16 months after the fires.

But, thanks to the coalition's Mobile Black Spot Program, this government is delivering better mobile phone services to regional and rural Australia. The government has already invested significantly in Canning. Four mobile phone black spot locations have received funding. Dwellingup was the first black spot identified, followed last year by Lake Clifton, Serpentine-Keysbrook and Waroona North. The funding has been secured for the development of these sites, and I am continuing to apply pressure to see them rolled out as soon as possible.

Looking forward, it is obvious that Canning must continue to be a priority for mobile phone coverage development. Reliable mobile phone coverage is a vital utility in this day and age for both personal and professional life. As I mentioned, it is key to advancing educational and social opportunities for residents. It is not a luxury of modern life; it is an essential service. I will work very closely with the people of Canning to ensure that everyone has adequate service.

Justine Keay (Braddon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I think this matter says a lot about this government and, again, its failure to deliver. It is quite interesting that the member who put this motion forward cannot stay in this chamber to listen to the contributions because she knows how bad this program has become. Several people in my electorate of Braddon are wondering what is happening to the towers that they were promised by my predecessor. Perhaps the member for Capricornia would not mind asking her National Party colleague, a senator for New South Wales who is also the Minister for Regional Communications, where the funding she committed to in May last year for Gunns Plains, Sulphur Creek and Devonport has gone.

The former member for Braddon was quoted in the local paper—The Advocateat the time as saying:

"A re-elected Coalition government will immediately invite mobile network operators … to provide coverage in the identified locations at the earliest opportunity," …

Either I have a different understanding of the term 'immediately' or something is astray with the former member's commitment. In the meantime, Sulphur Creek residents and businesses have become increasingly frustrated with no news from the government. In December, the government handed out funding for Temma and Yolla, which I certainly welcome, but, to be honest, I was left with more questions than answers. I organised a community meeting in Sulphur Creek with Telstra a little while ago and, thanks to the community, Telstra is taking the issue very seriously, but this still begs the question: where did the commitment for Sulphur Creek go?

In February I presented an additional petition from Sulphur Creek residents to the House. Despite this, and a letter to the minister, I have had no reply. Fortunately, my office has been regularly checking the department's website for updates and any news on round 3, and last week we noticed a not-too-subtle change. The government has changed the wording for round 3 of this program to 'government priority locations', which proves once and for all that this is a political process. While I welcome the fact that finally Gunns Plains, Sulphur Creek and Devonport are listed among the locations, it is telling that there are three times as many government priority locations in coalition electorates and that all 29 sites that fall in Labor electorates are in marginal seats. If that is not a cynical political exercise then what is it?

I am also concerned that the wording on the website, 'There will be an approach to market in 2017 to deliver on these commitments, subject to a suitable application by carriers,' may enable the government to walk away from these commitments. I certainly hope that this does not happen and that an announcement is made soon, because going by the delays in rolling out round 1 of the program, Sulphur Creek, Devonport and Gunns Plains residents could have a long wait ahead of them.

Sisters Beach residents were told in June 2015 that their mobile phone reception would get fixed, and this has still not happened. I know these things take time, but this is a community that has had numerous problems, with residents unable to contact emergency services in times of need. The technology is also co-located on an NBN tower that surely could have been resolved in a much quicker time frame.

In Braddon, 109 sites were identified as being mobile phone blackspots, and so far just nine have been announced in rounds 1 and 2 of the government's program. So again we have the government, this time through the member for Capricornia, proudly spruiking their achievements in this area, while communities such as Gunns Plains and Sulphur Creek are left wondering when, and if, they will ever get the funding that was promised to them in the lead-up to the last election. Unfortunately, I hold out little hope of ever receiving a response from the government on this issue for these communities. The government have been in for four years, yet still these people are waiting. It seems those opposite too easily forget this very critical fact: they are the government and they should start delivering on their commitments.

Melissa Price (Durack, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the private member's motion, moved by the member for Capricornia, on the Mobile Blackspot Program. What a valuable initiative this has been from the federal government. This $220 million program—as you will understand, Mr Deputy Speaker Coulton, as a fellow regional member—is a massive boost to regional businesses and regional life in general. Mobile phone coverage is something that those living in the cities often take for granted, but we in the regions need to travel great distances while juggling work and family commitments. That is no easy task. I have often found myself, whilst travelling around my electorate, out of phone coverage, often for hours but occasionally for days.

This was the focus for round 1 of the Mobile Black Spot Program in my electorate: to directly facilitate business, lifestyle and investment in regional Australia by boosting coverage around towns and cities in my electorate. Then round 2, announced late last year, was rolled out, and in Durack we saw a shift in thinking. We saw a move towards a policy of creating jobs and investment through the innovative placement of mobile phone towers. Tourism will be the big winner because of that slight shift in focus. Tourism, as we all know, is a growth sector in many parts of regional Australia. I have been a vocal supporter of a more robust tourism industry in the north-west and I am a strong believer in the potential of tourism in the north-west, in particular in my electorate of Durack. But we can do so much more to capture potential markets and create local jobs. With the rollout of the Mobile Black Spot Program round 2 we saw a focus on tourist areas in the Kimberley and the Pilbara, like Karijini National Park and Millstream, and a variety of other initiatives to try and encourage the tourism industry in this part of the world. Funding was also committed for further towers in the Mid West and the Wheatbelt, which I was very pleased to hear about as well. But I would like to focus on those places throughout the Top End and the north-west, in a bid to increase tourist numbers.

The modern tourist expects mobile phone coverage. They expect to be able to go on an adventure holiday to see something unique and beautiful, like Karajini, yet come back to modern facilities at night and surf the web or call family, or just to feel safe. The modern tourist, while chasing some adventure and excitement, does not want to sacrifice comfort, which is something we in Australia need to understand if we are to attract the modern-day tourist. That is why placing mobile phone towers in these national parks is so important, because they facilitate the tourism industry in one of the most remote and spectacular national parks in this country. The rangers who patrol these areas, the tourism operators running businesses out there and the tourists themselves all stand to benefit from these decisions, and I welcome that wholeheartedly, especially from a safety perspective.

A Productivity Commission report released in 2015 detailed the type of tourist we are seeing travelling throughout Australia, and we now know what sort of tourist is attracted to a holiday in the north-west, in my electorate of Durack. We know that Chinese tourists enjoy coming to the historic Chinatown in Broome, for example. They enjoy staying in a nice or hotel or resort, being collected every day and being taken on their day trip and being collected from their hotel back to the airport. They will go back to the resort where they stay so they can dine as a family in the restaurant.

We also know that we have some more adventurous tourists coming now from places like Japan and South Korea, who are after a very different experience, and they are very welcome. They are happy to hire their own car, drive themselves to their accommodation and are more likely to go camping—in most cases it is more like glamping, of course—in a national park. These markets of South Korean and Japanese tourists visiting the ruggedly beautiful national parks of the Pilbara and the Kimberley need to be supported, and that is what round 2 of the Mobile Black Spot Program brings into play.

In contrast—we heard some complaining before that nothing has happened—I can assure the member who was talking about it that nothing happened while you were in charge, so you might want to talk to your colleagues who are sitting there. Not one dollar went towards fixing this very important issue across Australia when Labor was in government. What a disgrace, yet they are here now complaining that we are not doing it quickly enough. They do not support regional and rural Australia. They showed that during those long years that they were here. We on this side support regional Australia. We are backing regional Australia and I am very proud of that.

Stephen Jones (Whitlam, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Regional Development and Infrastructure) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is unparliamentary to refer to a person in this place as a liar, and out of deep respect to you, Deputy Speaker Coulton, and the rules of this place, I will not do it, but the persistent indifference to the truth that has just been displayed by the member for Durack and the mover of this motion, the member for Capricornia, really does test the patience of every Labor member of the House. They persistently show their ignorance when it comes to the engineering requirements of mobile phone telephony in this country when they peddle the lives and indifference to truth about how this program has been rolling out and about Labor's contributions to mobile black spot funding in the past.

Before the government came into office there was history. There was a world before the government came to office. There was a program known as the Regional Backbone Blackspots Program. It was a Labor initiative of $250 million, which was invested in putting the backhaul infrastructure—that is, the cable that joins the mobile phone towers together—to ensure that those mobile phone blackspots could be filled in. So these 500 mobile phone towers that they brag about simply could not exist if Labor had not invested the $250 million in the Regional Backbone Blackspots Program. I can guarantee you that that money was not siphoned off, as it has been under this program, for political and other purposes.

A few months ago, the Australian National Audit Office published a damning report of the government's management of this program. Not one government speaker mentioned it, for good reason. Only the National Party could take a fundamentally good idea and muck it up the way that they have, turning it into a slush fund for their own rank political purposes. They love to talk about the contribution that they have made for remote and regional communities. Well, I have had a look at some of these regional and remote communities that have been funded by this program. There is a place called Belmont. It is as far away as 12 kilometres from the CBD of Brisbane, and it is funded under round 3 of this program. There is another place called Karana Downs, which is 22 kilometres away. That is a skateboard and a short bus ride from the CBD of Brisbane. Yet these champions of regional Australia say this is a great program and they have done a fantastic job by funding these mobile phone black spots in areas that you can see from the CBD of Brisbane—or from Perth. I could go around the entire country and find examples where the minister has used public money for a political purpose. It is not just us who are saying this; it is the Australian National Audit Office who are saying this money has not been efficiently used.

In round 1 of this program, 20 per cent of the mobile phone black spots that were funded did not extend coverage. Twenty per cent of the towers—that is one in five of the towers—that were funded did not extend coverage. When pressed on this issue, the minister said, 'Oh, well, it wasn't all about extending coverage.' There are many people who think that a mobile black spot program is about filling in black spots, but, 'No,' the minister went on to say, 'some of this was about competition and ensuring that we had more competition in the bush.' Fair enough, except that over 70 per cent of the funds went to the incumbent mobile telephone operator. How is that for improving competition? They actually entrenched a monopoly for mobile phone coverage in the bush.

So we will not cop a lecture. We will not cop this persistent indifference to the truth from the mover of this motion and the champions who come in here after her saying that this program has been an unmitigated success. It has not. The Australian National Audit Office was damning in its criticism. It appears that the government have learned nothing from their mistakes in round 1. So we again call on the Australian National Audit Office to run a ruler over the operations of this program, because it appears that the National Party have stuffed it up again.

Mark Coulton (Parkes, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The time allocated for this debate has expired. The debate is adjourned, and the resumption of debate will be made an order for the next day of sitting.

Federation Chamber adjourned at 19:38