Linda Reynolds (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Defence) Share this | Hansard source

I thank my colleague and good friend Senator Dean Smith for that question, but I also congratulate him for his tireless advocacy for regional and rural communities right across Australia and Western Australia in particular. The Morrison government is getting on with the job of rolling out the NBN to rural and regional Australia, nowhere more so than in our home state of Western Australia. Almost all premises in regional Australia already have access to the network, and for the few that don't construction is well underway.

Regional Australia is being served by a combination of fixed line and fixed wireless services augmented by the Sky Muster satellite services to some of the more difficult to serve premises in rural and regional Australia. Once the network rollout is complete, around 70 per cent of premises in regional Australia will be serviced by fixed line broadband. This level of connectivity will bring life-changing education, expertise and customers to small and family businesses in regional, rural and remote Western Australia and also, of course, around the nation. According to the 2018 report Connecting Australia by AlphaBeta, business growth in NBN connected regions accelerated at five times the pace of regions without the NBN. This growth is expected to create up to 20,000 additional jobs in regional Australia by 2021. For example, the Kalgoorlie-Boulder Mining Innovation Hub in Western Australia is bringing together scientists, engineers and mining experts on collaborative projects that will add significant value to the Australian minerals industry. High-speed internet on the NBN is enabling businesses of all sizes and in all locations to innovate and make connections thanks to this government.