Jenny Ware (Hughes, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on behalf of residents from Bundeena and Maianbar about the woeful telecommunications infrastructure in these areas. These are beautiful beachside villages bound by the Royal National Park and the Port Hacking river, home to around 2½ thousand local residents. I mention the work particularly of the Bundeena Progress Association in advocating for these residents. This area also is frequented by tourists, budding artists and thousands of bushwalkers. It is very disappointing to see that the Bundeena and Maianbar communities continue to be ignored by this Labor government, particularly in relation to mobile phone coverage.

Services are provided by towers in Cronulla. These towers are approximately three kilometres away, over the Port Hacking river. This is a major problem for a community that is geographically isolated and prone to natural disasters such as bushfires and flooding. Disappointingly, Bundeena was again overlooked in the latest round of funding from the government's Mobile Black Spot Program.

Similarly, with the internet connect—I have been writing to the minister about the need to upgrade the fibre-to-the-curb connection, which Bundeena residents have been waiting for now for more than six years. I still have not heard from the Minister for Communications on this.

This is a community that desperately needs the same level of mobile and internet service enjoyed by most other Australians. The Labor government needs to do better for the residents of Bundeena and Maianbar. I will remain committed to fighting for better mobile and internet coverage services in Bundeena and Maianbar. (Time expired)