Michelle Rowland (Greenway, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Communications) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for her question. She understands it's vital that we give young people right around Australia the tools they need to succeed in our modern education environment, and that includes access to the highest-quality broadband. We know education doesn't end at the school gate, and the importance of remote learning was realised during the pandemic and the lockdown period.

Prior to the election, we discovered that there were some 30,000 families right around Australia with school students at home who, for whatever reason, didn't have access to the internet. That exposed a digital divide in children's learning. That's why, upon coming to government, we committed $8.8 million to the School Student Broadband Initiative, providing families in need with real cost-of-living relief through a free broadband service that will now run until the end of 2025.

I was pleased to recently join the Prime Minister at St John XXIII Catholic College in Stanhope Gardens, in my electorate, to hear from the teachers and students about how access to the internet was integral to their learning. As the Prime Minister said, access to the internet is as basic in 2024 as a pen and paper were a generation ago. We want to ensure that no Australian child is left behind in their learning due to cost-of-living pressures.

I am pleased to advise the House today that more than 16,000 families who were without broadband at home have now been connected to free internet through our initiative. For a family who gets connected today, they'll get a free internet service under the scheme until the end of next year, and that is saving them around a thousand dollars. That's real cost-of-living relief.

Anglicare Victoria, which manages the National Referral Centre to help connections to the program, told us about a mother-of-three who had never had the internet at home but was finally able to get her family connected. The opportunity is especially significant for her youngest child, who has autism and attends school part time. Now her child can keep up with their studies using a specialised program that tracks and submits completed work while maintaining access to teachers.

The Albanese government is delivering on our election commitments, including this one, delivering real cost-of-living relief for families in need and helping to improve access and opportunities in education for all Australian children, wherever they may live. The initiative remains open for nominations until the end of the year, and any Australian family can contact the National Referral Centre on 1800954610 to check their eligibility and get assistance to set up their free connection and take up the benefits of this transformative scheme.

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