Bridget McKenzie (Victoria, National Party, Minister for Regional Communications) Share this | Hansard source

Well, sadly, Senator Gichuhi, I'm not. The Australian Labor Party's approach to regional telecommunications policy is actually a lot like regional black spots: nothing; silence; absolutely no bars. We can look across the aisle and ask: what are they doing for regional black spots in regional Australia? Let's compare them. Two hundred and twenty million dollars from us has been leveraged with state governments and telcos to deliver $680 million of investment. Labor: silence. There are 867 base stations across the country, which I'm hoping, with our increased investment, will grow to 1,000. But, when we look across the aisle, there is absolute silence. The coalition government is the only government that backs regional Australia and our entrepreneurial spirit through increased connectivity.