Chris Bowen (Prospect, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Tonight I would like to talk about a relatively new suburb in my electorate called Pemulwuy. It is a lovely suburb but it does face certain infrastructure issues, which I would like to talk about today. Firstly, a couple of constituents from Pemulwuy approached me recently to complain that they were not able to access broadband, so I thought I would see just how much of a problem this was and I conducted a survey in the electorate. The response was quite overwhelming. Very quickly, I had survey forms flooding into my office. This is a snapshot of the responses from the Pemulwuy broadband survey:

Upgrading—

to ADSL—

is near impossible and my system is so slow and inefficient it is has almost useless.

Poor wireless reception.

Don’t know why Telstra is not able to install any cable in the new area.

... no room on the exchange.

Zero signal strength from my unwired modem rendering my internet connection non-existent!

It’s very frustrating—

the constituents told me—

not being able to upgrade to ADSL+2 especially as I live in a new residential development.

... no ports are available at Pendle Hill substation.

ADSL2+ Not Available! Cable Not Available!

This is very strong feedback from the residents of Pemulwuy. They are frustrated that, in one of the newest suburbs in Sydney where houses are still being built, broadband is simply not available. I have written to Telstra requesting an urgent meeting to discuss the installation of broadband in Pemulwuy. I must say I have dealt with Telstra on these issues in the past and I have always found them to be accommodating and helpful.

We previously had the issue where Cecil Park, Mount Vernon and Horsley Park did not have broadband access and, after a community campaign, surveys organised by my office and petitions, we convinced Telstra to install broadband in Horsley Park and Cecil Park, and it is working very successfully. So I hope that we can have a very similar outcome in Pemulwuy. It is certainly very important for students, as we all know, but also for small businesses. If you are trying to operate a small business from home, it is impossible without broadband, and there are many people in Pemulwuy trying to do just that. So this will be an urgent priority for me and I hope that we are able to get some results from Telstra.

Also on the issue of Pemulwuy, we were recently successful in getting a postbox installed at Pemulwuy Marketplace, Pemulwuy shopping centre. I thank Australia Post, as I have done in the House in the past, for that. Recently I was out at Pemulwuy shopping centre and at a mobile office at Greystanes shopping centre. The people of Pemulwuy would prefer a post office to a postbox, as grateful as they are for the postbox. In fact, they presented me with 5,000 signatures on a petition calling for a post office at Pemulwuy, which I have sent to the Leader of the House for him to present in the House.

I do recognise that Australia Post have a lot of demand for post offices and they are not able to build them everywhere they are required. I do recognise that we have an excellent post office at Greystanes. In fact, it won the award for the best post office in New South Wales. I am sorry to report this to the member for Throsby, but the best post office in New South Wales is in Prospect. We do not want to do anything to affect the viability of that post office but, as the population of Pemulwuy grows, clearly there will be a case for a post office at Pemulwuy. I will continue to lobby Australia Post for that; it is an essential service in many respects. I know that Australia Post are a commercial operation and they must make a return to the government and operate under commercial guidelines; however, the people of Pemulwuy are correct when they ask for a post office.

While I am on Greystanes, I will raise one other issue. I tend not to raise non-federal issues in the House, although I know that members opposite always raise non-federal issues, but I do from time to time when there is an issue that is important, such as AGL and the extension of gas through Greystanes, in particular to Kootingal Street. The Kootingal Street residents have asked me to help them in their campaign, and I have written a letter of support to AGL. AGL have said that if the residents want gas connected it will cost them $30,000, which is a lot of money for people who want gas connected. One of the great ironies of my electorate is that just at the end of my street and through Greystanes we have the Perth to Sydney gas pipeline, but many parts of the electorate cannot access gas. I recognise that AGL are a private company and that they have to turn a profit, but I take the opportunity of putting on the record for the House the concerns of the people of Kootingal Street and surrounding streets with regard to the gas connection and my support for them in finding a sensible and appropriate way to have that gas connected. Of course, I will continue to lobby particularly strongly for broadband at Pemulwuy and for the post office at Pemulwuy. (Time expired)