Rebekha Sharkie (Mayo, Nick Xenophon Team) Share this | Hansard source

My question is to the minister representing the Minister for Communications. The Productivity Commission's Telecommunications universal service obligation, report No. 83, recommends winding back Telstra's obligation to provide payphones. Payphones are a critical form of communication in regional areas. Mayo has more than 130 identified mobile phone black spots. Vast sections of Kangaroo Island and Fleurieu have no coverage. Unemployed Australians rely on payphones to communicate with Centrelink and jobactive providers. Will the minister be implementing the recommendation, and, if so, how will the government ensure regions with little or no mobile phone coverage and unemployed Australians are not worse off?

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