Dan Tehan (Wannon, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Immigration and Citizenship) Share this | Hansard source

Mobile phone coverage is absolutely vital in regional and rural Victoria—in particular, in the seat of Wannon. That is why I was so proud to be a member of a government, a coalition government, that put in place the Mobile Black Spot funding. We put that in place in 2014. Since then, it has delivered nearly 40 new mobile phone towers in the electorate of Wannon. We have received more than our fair share as a result of that coalition program, and it wouldn't be in place if it weren't for a coalition government. I remember taking Paul Fletcher, the then minister for telecommunications, up the Victoria Valley and impressing upon him the need for us to get improved mobile phone coverage. That in part helped us to get that fund in place and to deliver nearly 40 new mobile base stations in Wannon.

That has been a fantastic achievement. Does it mean we rest on our laurels? No, it doesn't. It means we continue to keep going. But what do we need to make sure that we can keep providing improved mobile phone access in Wannon, right across Victoria and right across regional and rural Australia? You need a coalition government, because guess what this government, the Albanese Labor government, has done. They've decided in the budget not to have any more Mobile Black Spot Program after the year 2027-28. That is simply not good enough, and we won't stand for it, because we know that we need to keep delivering improved mobile phone reception into the electorate of Wannon and right across rural and regional Australia.

As a matter of fact, what this government has done is make the situation worse, because, through the sheer incompetence of switching off the 3G network, they've actually reduced the coverage rather than improved it. That is why I was so proud to be a member of a coalition government that put the Mobile Black Spot Program in place to start with and saw it deliver, through the advocacy of local community groups and local towns in my electorate, nearly 40 new mobile base stations. I want to make sure it continues.

Let me give you one example of why we have to make sure it continues. Recently, I was at the Simpson Speedway. The Simpson Speedway puts on the best sprint-car entertainment that you will see, and guess how they do it. It is all volunteers. They put on about 11 meetings a year. Do you know how they run them? They just put out the call for volunteers, and 110 to 120 volunteers just turn up and put on the event. So you've got people there in their utes and in their tractors. They'll be pushing the cars and getting them going. When there's a smash, as occasionally there is, the tractors will be making sure they're picking up the cars and getting them off the track safely. You've got the wonderful volunteers in the cafeteria. Deputy Speaker Vasta, you'll love this, and I'm sure the member opposite will love this too: the fries in the cafeteria at Simpson—it is all volunteer run—are the best chips in the Southern Hemisphere. That's how they advertise them—

See this speech in context