George Christensen (Dawson, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Regional Health, Regional Communications and Local Government. Will the minister update the House on how the Morrison-McCormack government is delivering on its commitment to create jobs, to boost economic productivity and to improve digital connectivity in regional areas as part of its comeback plan for the future?

Mark Coulton (Parkes, Deputy-Speaker, Minister for Regional Health, Regional Communications and Local Government) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'd like to thank the member for Dawson for his question. No-one in this House is a greater champion for the growth of regions, the importance of jobs in the regions and the importance of connectivity. Due to the member for Dawson's lobbying over the years, we've seen numerous mobile base stations constructed in his electorate.

Regional Australia post COVID is having a renaissance; regional Australia is having growth we've never seen before. In the June quarter, 10,000 people relocated from capital cities to regional Australia. And why are they doing that? They're doing that because they found out during the pandemic that you can operate from regional Australia because we have connectivity. I myself worked as a minister for the Australian government on a satellite connection for ten weeks in isolation at my home at Warialda. Right across the regions children were being educated and young entrepreneurs, like Buy From The Bush, were selling products all over the world thanks to their connectivity.

But there is more to do. We've just closed applications for the Regional Connectivity Program. The applications were so numerous that in the budget we increased that amount by $30 million, so we actually have $83 million now. That is being assessed by the department. They're looking at bespoke ways of connectivity—connectivity to industrial areas, connectivity to education zones, connectivity to health precincts to improve that level of connectivity right across the regions. In the member for Dawson's electorate, in Mackay and the suburbs of Townsville that he cares for, now businesses will be able to get business-grade NBN connections, gigabyte connections, at the same price as metropolitan Australia. So we are going to see more and more individuals making that choice to move to regional Australia but also businesses making the choice to relocate. And we're tying that in with other pieces of infrastructure and investment, like Inland Rail, the connectivity in western New South Wales in my electorate, for instance.

As we speak here today, unemployment in the City of Dubbo is under two per cent. That is because the businesses in Dubbo are not only servicing western New South Wales but servicing right across the world. We've got businesses in Dubbo exporting to the world because they are connected to the world.

Today we launched, with the president of the NFF, Fiona Simson, the Regional Digital Tech Hub. With the boost in connectivity and the options we have, there are still some people that are struggling to understand what's available to them. So, through the digital tech hub, they'll be able to speak to a real person—

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

The minister's time has concluded. The Prime Minister.

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I ask that further questions be placed on the Notice Paper.