Mark Coulton (Parkes, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to endorse the remarks of my colleagues and also in support of my community and my electorate, which is a large regional area that is going to be severely disadvantaged if digital TV is turned on without a replacement. I will say briefly that prior to coming to this place I was the mayor of a shire council, and we had one of these small community transmitters, which was funded by the previous government and managed by the council. From time to time it would break down, and I know what the people of Australia do when they do not have television to watch: they turn to one thing, and that is the telephone. They would telephone me as a mayor in that position. So I have a word of advice to my colleagues on the other side: when the televisions are switched off in my electorate, I am going to furnish my constituents with the phone number of every member of the Labor Party so that they can fill in their idle nights speaking to them.

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