John Williams (NSW, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Regional Services, Senator McKenzie. Can the minister update the Senate on what action the Liberal-National government is taking to give Australians living in regional areas access to better internet services?

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

I thank you, Senator Williams, for your question and recognise your advocacy to deliver greater communications for rural and regional Australia.

This morning I was able to stand with NBN Co, who are developing a new product, the Sky Muster Plus, which is going to deliver not only faster broadband but also, importantly, unmetered data to rural and regional homes and businesses. It might sound very old age to those of us in the chamber, but they're going to be using this for web browsing, emails, software updates, internet banking, reading the news, staying in touch with family and friends and accessing vital services, such as telehealth, that won't end up contributing to their monthly cap, because right now they do. It means people are getting up at 2 am to put in their BAS statement on their cattle station. It is incredibly important. When kids come home, they can't do the appropriate education pieces. Importantly, during drought, they're unable to access essential telehealth services. Having unmetered data for those regional communities is incredibly important and it is being welcomed right around the board.

Today, I was able to demonstrate the benefits of Sky Muster satellite, chatting with Kristy Sparrow, the founding member of Better Internet for Rural, Regional and Remote Australia. She and her husband run 5,000 head, in good times, on a 40,000 acre property up in Alpha, Senator O'Sullivan, in Queensland. She has been a tireless advocate for better internet services for the bush. It's been critical for her to be able to educate her two young children by distance education over the years. The Liberal-National government is investing $2 billion into the NBN Sky Muster satellite network, and this brings vital digital connectivity to our most isolated Australians. Thirty per cent of Australians don't live in capital cities, and we produce 70 per cent of our nation's exports.

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Williams, a supplementary question.

John Williams (NSW, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I ask the minister: what are the benefits of better communications in regional Australia?

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

The benefits of increased digital connectivity for the regions are immense. At present, around 96 per cent of homes, farms and businesses in the regions either can order NBN or have network construction underway. Research has found that the network helped create $450 million in additional GDP in regional Australia last year, which means more jobs created locally. That figure is forecast to drive an additional $5.3 billion in regional areas by 2021, particularly across agriculture and tourism.

There is a potential there to unlock $49.2 billion of private sector output over the next 10 years by accessing these digital technologies. Digital ag, we know, has the potential to increase by 25 per cent on 2014-15 levels through the adoption and use of technology. The Liberal-National government is investing in better broadband to help regional Australia grow and create local jobs across the regions.

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Williams, a final supplementary question.

John Williams (NSW, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the minister for that good news. Now I have a difficult question for her. Is there any threat to the government's plan to improve communications throughout regional and rural Australia?

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

Thank you very much, Senator Williams. Yes, I think there might be. The threat to a better broadband for regional Australia is the threat of a future Labor government. When Labor was in government it was completely clueless about the need for data and mobile connections out in regional Australia. In contrast, when we came to government, we flipped the rollout of the NBN so that the regions were prioritised, because—guess what?—they didn't even have access to broadband. Now we've got more than 620,000 premises with access to fixed wireless and over half a million have an active service.

If we'd stuck to Labor's plan for fixed wireless and satellite coverage, at least 200,000 farms and businesses—and they're actual people producing the wealth of this nation—would have no services at all. We have delivered the technology the regions need to access essential health and education services.