Jonathon Duniam (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Environment, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Hansard source

Senator Roberts's motion highlights the chaos that this government's handling of the 3G shutdown has brought about. In late October, thousands of 4G phones were deactivated because the communications minister ordered telcos to do so without public notice. A late October determination required telcos to identify phones unable to access triple 0 and cut off service, but no public warnings were issued. This left phone owners unprepared and frustrated.

The government, warned about 4G connectivity issues last year, has struggled with this transition, shifting blame to the telcos. The 3G shutdown is necessary, but the process was poorly managed, impacting many, many Australians. While we understand what's prompted this motion, it's not practical to undo the 3G transition, which is why the coalition will not be supporting this disallowance.

Question negatived.