Tony Pasin (Barker, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the importance of mobile phone coverage across my electorate of Barker. On being elected in 2013, I was excited to see the coalition government's Mobile Black Spot Program rolled out across the nation, and I looked forward to my electorate reaping some of those dividends. The coalition recognised in the lead up to the 2013 election that in order to attract investment in telecommunications in rural, regional and remote areas government needed to incentivise telecommunications companies to make that investment in those less densely populated areas of our nation.

The program has been highly successful, with more than 600 of the total 867 base stations already delivered across the country, under the first three rounds of the program. The program has seen more than $680 million generated in co-investment from state and local governments, carriers and businesses and from local communities themselves. This is a direct result of our government's initiative. Round 4 of the program is underway, with the database being reopened last week. This process will give all Australians an opportunity to add any black spots that were not included in the database in 2016. Round 4 will open for applications later in the year, which will deliver yet more towers and better service to many towns and regions all across the country, but this won't go far enough.

We need this program to proceed past round 4. In fact, we need this program to proceed past round 5. Indeed, I'm actively advocating for this program to become a rolling program. There are so many black spots around the country that need addressing. I'm not advocating to ensure every square inch of desert and mountain range is covered. That's unrealistic. I'm talking about areas that are populated and in high-risk bushfire areas, on our roads and on our highways. I am advocating for improved coverage for those who live and work in towns and regions, produce our food and fibre, run our regionally based businesses and our farms and educate our children in regional communities. This program must continue. It must be a rolling program, and that's what I'm advocating for.

Before those opposite think, 'Here's an opportunity for the Labor Party to criticise the Mobile Black Spot Program,' I thought I might put on record a couple of the differences, if you like, between our program over the last five and a bit years and the six years that preceded that. Mr Deputy Speaker, it won't come as a surprise to you that, despite those opposite being in government for nearly six years, between 2007 and 2013, there wasn't a single dollar—not a single dollar—invested in upgrading mobile telecommunications in rural, regional and remote Australia. Effectively, if there were a scoreboard on this topic of mobile black spots fixed, it would read: Labor, zero; coalition, 867. If the scoreboard flipped over to investment generated, then the scoreboard would read: Labor, zero; coalition, $680 million. In fact, I think the poorest point in this debate was the lead-up to and during the 2016 election, where Labor failed to commit even to the ongoing rolling out of base stations funded under round 1 of the program and failed to commit to continuing the round 2 rollout if they won government.

Of course, that gives us a window to what we should expect from the mobile phone black spot program were those opposite to be successful at the forthcoming election. Under our government, you'll see the program continue, and, if I'm successful in my advocacy, you'll see a rolling program, fixed long into the future. If those opposite are successful at that election, what we'll end up with is going back to the zeros. There will be zero investment and zero additional towers, because, while those opposite—and I'm grateful that one of the members sitting opposite does represent a regional community—can often talk a big game when it comes to regional community, the scoreboard tells us a very different story.

Now I'd just like to take an opportunity to refer to a couple of sites that I long campaigned for and, I'm very pleased to say, towards the end of this year will be formally switched on. Kalangadoo, in the south-east of South Australia, is a notorious blackspot. This is a significant community. In fact, I spoke about the very successful Kalangadoo netball club today in the House of Representatives during members' statements. But this is a community that's been bedevilled with almost zero mobile reception forever. I'm pleased to say that, as a result of round 3 of the program, Kalangadoo will receive a new mobile phone system—indeed, an upgrade to the NBN tower, which this government also provided to that community, to ensure that we receive mobile telecommunications in and around Kalangadoo.

Those living at Kybybolite can also expect a positive outcome. I acknowledge that that's been some time in the wait, and that had a lot to do with issues around roaming and the Productivity Commission's review into this. But I'm very pleased to say that the Kybybolite tower is now in the final stages of planning, and it will be built. I'm very hopeful that it will be operational before the end of the year.

Why am I so passionate about mobile phone reception in regional communities? Well, these devices are now the No. 1 piece of safety kit for anyone who lives rurally, remotely or regionally. Whether you're travelling on one of our roads or you're working remotely on one of our farms, the most important piece of kit is your mobile phone. I've spoken about this in the past.

My father is 70-plus. He works remotely. He thinks he's got the capacity of a 30-year-old. I think he wishes he still had those capacities. We worry incessantly about the fact that he works with heavy machinery, he takes risks he probably shouldn't and that, if something goes bad, he won't be able to lean into his pocket and make that phone call—whilst he's got his phone with him, it's rendered useless because of the lack of coverage in many of the areas where he farms.

My father is one man. There are literally hundreds of thousands of Australians living in rural, regional, remote Australia—millions, in fact. There are millions who go to work every day and, like I'm sure those opposite would agree, we want them all to come home safely at the end of the day. That's why I'm so passionate about mobile phone connectivity. Sure, it delivers productivity outcomes for our nation. Sure, it means checking out your favourite Wikipedia page is made a little easier, but ultimately for me it's about safety. It's about ensuring that help, when needed, is attainable. It's about ensuring that those that go out and work hard on our behalf can be assured that those perhaps sitting behind them creating the kind of safety nets, in ambulance and other key services, are there when they need them.

I think in this nation there has been a great compact, and that compact has been the compact between those that live in metropolitan areas and those that live in rural areas. Over time we have worked to ensure that compact meant that, in turn for the great dividends that are delivered from regional Australia, regional Australians can expect connectivity. Initially, it was roads. Then came fixed-line phones. We now need to make sure that that compact is honoured. And, in a modern world where this is your device of choice, where this is your most important piece of safety equipment, that compact, if it's to be honoured, is about mobile phone telecommunications connectivity across our country.