Peter Hendy (Eden-Monaro, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak about the issue of mobile phone coverage in my electorate of Eden-Monaro. Earlier this year I was very pleased to circulate a discussion paper released by the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Communications, the member for Bradfield, seeking feedback on how to structure the coalition's $100 million regional mobile phone coverage program. The coalition made an election commitment to invest $100 million to improve mobile phone coverage in outer metropolitan, regional and remote communities, and we expect to leverage at least an additional $100 million in investment from the mobile phone carriers and other parties. Inadequate mobile phone coverage is a significant concern for regional communities.

The discussion paper describes several possible options for allocating this funding and seeks comment from those with an interest in the program. The government is keen to hear from mobile phone carriers and other industry participants, and the comments are due by the end of this week.

I am delighted that the parliamentary secretary has agreed to come to Eden-Monaro on Friday, 14 March to talk about the coalition's plans in this important area. The parliamentary secretary has agreed to participate in two roundtable discussions that I am convening in Eden-Monaro with my constituents on mobile phone coverage. The first roundtable discussion with me will be in Queanbeyan, with constituents mainly from the Braidwood, Bungendore and Nelligen areas. The second roundtable be in Cooma and will allow people from as far away as Tathra to discuss with the parliamentary secretary and with me any specific concerns, preferences and issues with respect to mobile phone coverage.

As with many other regional and rural parts of Australia, Eden-Monaro has many pockets where mobile phone reception is particularly bad or non-existent. That is of real concern to communities, particularly during the bushfire season and in emergencies. Lives can literally depend on being able to access mobile phone networks in emergencies, so expanding mobile phone coverage has clear benefits to public safety as well as to the productive capacity of regional communities. It can also impact on the tourism surge we experience, for example, down the south coast in summer and in the Snowy Mountains in winter. This can cause peak overload issues as well. This is a golden opportunity for my constituents to have access to a senior coalition government representative. I particularly want to thank the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Communications for being so willing to come out and spend time in Eden-Monaro and to talk with my constituents about the best approach to a black spot program and mobile phone coverage.

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