Helen Coonan (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts) Share this | Hansard source

I can appreciate that Senator Conroy cannot keep quiet, but Senator Stephens, his colleague, asked a question and I was endeavouring to provide some constructive information in response to Senator Stephens’s question. What is important about this is that this government stands up for people in rural and regional Australia. It does not matter whether it is a matter of making sure they have a local payphone or whether they have a local presence to assist them with their issues in telecommunications, this government will not abandon people in rural and regional Australia. We have a robust framework quite capable of responding to any of the issues that are thrown at it, because it has been carefully thought through and carefully calibrated to assist consumers.

It ill behoves the Labor Party to be talking about services in rural and regional Australia when they abandoned the bush when they corporatised Telstra without a plan as to what would give people equity in rural and regional Australia. Not a cent was set aside for the bush. It does not matter whether it was when they were in government or even in their election policy; as far as the Labor Party is concerned, rural and regional Australia does not exist. It is this government that cares about consumers and cares about giving them telecommunications as an essential, critical service, and we will continue to stick up for the bush.