Nick Champion (Wakefield, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to talk about round 1 of the Mobile Black Spot Program, which was undertaken by this government. Along with so many other members of parliament, I was asked to nominate three priority locations for funding. In my electorate, I nominated Rhynie, Sevenhill and Watervale. I know that all three of these towns have very serious black spot issues. I have driven through them many times on my way to the Clare Valley, mainly for work.

Dr Southcott interjecting—

I thank the member for Boothby for referring to Clare's other obvious assets; however, I live in the Barossa, so I had better give them a plug as well. There are very serious mobile black spots, and of course at least one senator, Senator Sean Edwards, would know that well too because he used to live in Clare and has no doubt travelled through that area and had his calls interrupted. That is why it is so disappointing to find the government's response to this program. We found that over 80 per cent of the new mobile phone towers announced are in Liberal and National seats. That led The Advertiser to come out with the headline 'Mobile funding black hole "a bloody disgrace"'. That was in The Advertiser on 4 September this year. It pointed out that South Australia received just $2.5 million of a national fund of $100 million—well below our population and well below, I might add, the needs. This should not just concern Labor members from South Australia, because there are so many other rural members, the majority of whom are Liberal members of parliament, from South Australia. That has led federal Labor to basically write to the Australian National Audit Office to request a formal review of this program. Of course this affects constituents out there in places like rural South Australia. The Southern Mallee mayor, Robert Sexton, said the program was a 'bloody disgrace' in which marginal seats benefited. He said:

"We hammered (local Liberal MP) Tony Pasin through local government" ... "I give him credit, he battled his heart out … and (I) honestly believed he was going to get more than we got, but we basically got nothing."

Well, I think that speaks for Mr Pasin's lobbying effort, but it also speaks to the nature of this government—that it would do that to its own supporters. Indeed, there are so many people who, I think in good faith, north of Tarlee vote for the Liberal Party because they expect it to be the voice of rural Australia. What they find, of course, is it is nothing of the sort and that, in actual fact, it is simply so desperate to maintain its grasp on office that it is prepared basically to turn its back on its most loyal supporters.

I would also like to point out that on 2 September The Advertiser had an editorial which points out that mobile phone networks are indeed a vital tool for business, for travel and for emergency communication and that South Australia attracted dollars only for 11 locations when the federal government handed out its black spot funding. In contrast, other states had 488 towers funded, including 31 in Tasmania. The editorial points out:

The Communications Department is refusing to reveal why these spots were chosen, arguing doing so would damage the relationship between the Minister and Department.

I think that tells you everything about the nature of this program. The Advertiser's coverage is a very damning indictment of the government. I know what the government will say. It will say, 'The state government didn't stump up half the cash.' Of course this ignores the fact that telecommunications has always been a federal responsibility. In any event, even if a state government is inactive in this area, it does not give the federal government an excuse to walk away from its responsibilities.

Mr Grant Hovey, who is the chairman of the Rhynie Improvement Scheme, pointed out to me in a letter that poor mobile phone service has hampered an emergency response in Rhynie. He wrote:

In the early hours of the morning of Thursday 20th August, a sad and very serious sequel to my recent article on 'no mobile service' was played out on the main street in Rhynie.

At approximately 12.30 am, a passing motorist came across the scene of a horrific accident, involving a car and stobie pole, in the main street of Rhynie. The motorist tried to use their mobile phone, but as there is no mobile reception in Rhynie, the phone indicated "emergency calls only", but 000 was not connected through.

The letter pointed out that they had to walk up the driveway of a nearby house—and you can imagine that at 12.30 in the morning—to access a landline. Of course, that slows down all of the emergency services which I know would have come. The local CFS brigade and emergency services quickly arrived on the scene. That gives you an indication of the importance of this program to country towns like Rhynie, Sevenhill and Watervale and it gives an indication that this government really does have to improve its game in the administration of this program. We can only hope that round 2 is better administered than round 1.

I would also like to talk about one of the programs that was talked about a lot in the last parliament, but it does not get much mention these days, except in a negative fashion from those opposite: GP superclinics. As always in public life, you tend to hear about complaints—the member for Boothby probably has a few—but you very rarely hear about successes. The location of the UniHealth Playford GP Superclinic on Curtis Road, Munno Para, is undoubtedly a success. Shirley Harris and Geoff Pope are two members of the community who lobbied me very diligently to get that service and were involved in all of the community consultations. Basically, they have asked me to talk about their service and what it has meant to them.

There were no doctors on the Peachey Belt, which is a very disadvantaged community in transition—the site of one of the biggest urban renewal projects in the country. Shirley Harris and Geoff Pope recorded in the letter that, through their discussions, attendance at the clinic is at a record of 7,858 as at May 2015 and averages about 110 care plans and assessments per month. The letter said:

The GP Super Clinic now has 13 doctors on staff, 14 Allied Health providers and also provides psychology services with five psychologists and up to four psychology post grad students. Additionally the Playford Immunisation clinic is now being run from Unihealth every Thursday.

Next door to the GP superclinic is a training facility for university students. They now have an additional relationship with Paralowie High School and Sir Mark Oliphant College, allowing healthcare professionals to transfer skills and competencies to students who are looking for a career in that area. It has been recorded as a resounding success with the local community. In the letter they said:

The ability to access everything they need from first consultation through to blood tests and care plans ensures that this multi-use facility is adequately utilised.

They thanked me for my representations to the Rudd government and the consultations that were undertaken with the local community to ensure that the UniHealth Playford GP Superclinic was a success. They now talk about it being part of the 'fabric of the north'. The success of this GP superclinic is very important to record because superclinics have been talked down and sometimes you have a bit of competition in this place. We heard the member for Boothby earlier talking about Australian technical colleges. The one in the City of Playford was very successfully transitioned to the Catholic Education program. No program is without its faults, but programs like the GP superclinics, where appropriately placed, did a lot of good, and that is certainly the case of the one on Curtis Road, Munno Para. Its success should be a model for the future. It gives an indication to the parliament that communities like the Peachey Belt deserve good health care, and that sometimes means that there has to be government investment in that health care. I would like to finish by thanking Shirley Harris and Geoff Pope for writing to me and for making me truly aware of the success of that particular clinic.

Lucy Wicks (Robertson, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In accordance with standing order 192B, the debate is interrupted. The debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate is made an order of the day for the next sitting.

Federation Chamber adjourned at 17:44