Justine Keay (Braddon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to address again an issue which is very important to the people of my electorate, but especially important to the people of Sulphur Creek, the west coast of Tasmania, King Island and, of course, Circular Head, which is a wonderful dairy-producing area.

Last week, as Devonport resident Cassie sat in her lounge room, she was able to have a real-time text conversation with her dad in Sulphur Creek. Cassie told me on Facebook: 'In the past, I would SMS him and not get a reply unless he left the house. Or he would have to stand outside on the balcony and lean over the edge for any reception. Dad isn't very tech savvy, and so he doesn't use—

A division having been called in the House of Representatives—

Sitting suspended from 10 : 19 to 10 : 27

I rise again today to address an issue which is very important to the people of my electorate, and is especially important to the people of Sulphur Creek, the west coast of Tasmania, King Island and Circular Head. Last week, as she sat in her lounge room, Devonport resident Cassie was able to have a real-time text conversation with her dad in Sulphur Creek. Cassie told me on Facebook: 'In the past I would SMS him and not get a reply unless he left the house, or he would have to stand outside on his balcony and lean over for any reception. Dad isn't very tech savvy so he doesn't use the internet or social media to communicate. Now there is reception in Sulphur Creek it has made a big difference. Being able to send him photos in real time and get replies is wonderful.' This government promised they would fix mobile phone coverage at Sulphur Creek. They did not. It has been left up to Telstra to do the job, independently of government. Local businesses, like the Highway Halt at Sulphur Creek, have also benefited. I would like to thank local business and the community for being able to work with them to fix this issue at Sulphur Creek.

However, residents on the west coast, King Island and in Circular Head continue to have limited or no phone coverage—when it's limited it's unstable, at best. Just this week in Queenstown for three consecutive days there has been no reception for most of each of those days. Circular Head, King Island and west coast telco customers are paying for a premium service that is not being delivered. How is that fair? We have farmers in Circular Head who need improved connectivity to meet the needs of their dairy processes. The current network is actually impeding their capacity and ability to perform. On King Island, if you don't live in Currie you can forget about mobile phone services. This is an island on the cusp of a tourism boom and in the midst of an agricultural boom, but with little to no coverage.

Labor has a plan to fix mobile phone coverage on the west coast, King Island and Circular Head. A Shorten Labor government will invest up to $2 million to fix mobile black spots in Circular Head, the west coast and King Island. We will work with local communities, emergency services and the state government to identify priority locations. Malcolm Turnbull should do the same.