Andrew Broad (Mallee, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The people in the Mallee should be able to drive on a decent road, have adequate telecommunications, have good educational opportunities for their children and know that when they go do the doctor there will be a doctor there and they can get treated. The focus of my job is looking after not only the big towns but all our great country towns. In October, I will be on the road doing a great country towns tour across the Wimmera Mallee.

Two of those great country towns are Kaniva and Sea Lake. Both are towns that are currently not on the NBN rollout for fixed wireless. I have told NBN Co that it's going to be cheaper for them to put a tower in those towns than to respond to the letters that I'm going to write, time and time and time again, to get that happening. I have written to the Minister for Communications and the Arts, Mitch Fifield—this is my third letter to the minister—and I am confident that we will get there. Kaniva has a population of 1,000. It has a school of 200 students from prep to year 12. Sea Lake has a population of 600 people and is a growing town with two great schools. I'm not going to give up. I believe in the future of country towns.

We talk about inland cities, but our country towns have a future. Our country towns have a future because our government is going to deliver one for them. The people who live in these towns are great Australians. They deserve to have access to a fixed wireless internet, and I'm going to get it for them. We won't give up.

Honourable Members:

Honourable members interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Members on both sides, if you could just take your seats, and cease interjecting.