Sophie Mirabella (Indi, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Innovation, Industry and Science) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak about the very important issue in my electorate of severe telecommunications deficiencies in certain areas. Basic telecommunication coverage is and should be a definite priority for any communication minister and, obviously, the current one leaves much to be desired.

I want to specifically focus on some towns in my electorate—the towns of Kancoona, Running Creek, Rosewhite, Mudgegonga and Myhree. Residents in these locations have either little or no access to basic mobile phone coverage and only some coverage from radio and television signals. It should be noted that most of these towns were directly impacted by the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires.

As you would appreciate, communication is critical during times of crisis not just for those in their homes and working but also to CFA volunteers. The 2009 bushfire royal commission did make specific recommendations and reference to communications infrastructure equipment to ensure that vital information can be accessed by residents in those locations. In fact, it was Senator Conroy who said that mobile communication can be a lifesaver. So I share the frustration and disappointment of my constituents who, although encouraged by the right words, have not seen these words matched by action.

At the recent election the coalition put forward a plan that would have addressed these black spots. We committed $30 million to support the deployment of the telecommunications infrastructure necessary to ensure that communities would have adequate and reliable mobile phone coverage. We promised to work with the industry to target areas like these towns in my electorate. Our grants would have allowed the progressive rollout of telecommunications infrastructure and ensured adequate and reliable mobile phone coverage across Australia. It is interesting to see that the government’s NBN—a whopping $43 billion at conservative estimates by some counts—will not make a jot of difference to any of these towns that I have mentioned.

I wrote to the communications minister a year ago in an attempt to gain government support for crucial infrastructure. Those pleas were ignored. Minister Conroy cited that investments are based on commercial decisions and economic viability. Well, if that is the case he should subject the NBN to some economic viability studies. He should subject it to a cost-benefit analysis. But of course the Labor Party is very hypocritical when it comes to issues of transparency and economic accountability.

It is just not good enough for country towns in these key areas, which are subject to natural disasters that endanger life and property, to be left without adequate communication. It is time the Labor Party matched their rhetoric with some real action. (Time expired)