National Broadband NADDRESS TO PARLIAMENT - Companies Amendment (Commitment to Public Ownership) Bill 2024 - Second Reading

Yet another political stunt by this desperate Albanese Labor government. As usual, there is absolutely no real consideration of the issues which are having such an impact on regional Australians. I know Labor neither understands nor, worse, cares about those Australians who live over the sandstone curtain, the Great Dividing Range. How about this government do something different for a change? How about this government focus on improving regional phone connectivity? They'll say, 'But we are.' But when they brought out their election promise of the so-called improving connectivity round—and it was an election promise—all the upgrades to the existing mobile phone towers went to Labor Party seats. They came in here and they said: 'We will have transparency and integrity. There will be no pork-barrelling under us.' Well, shame on them because the colour-coded spreadsheets—at least ours had a bit of colour, but theirs were all red when it came to upgrading mobile phone towers.

Residents are rightly concerned. Just two months ago I spoke both locally back in my Riverina electorate and in this place about the issue of mobile connectivity affecting residents in and around Ardlethan and Kamarah. They're not big towns but they're very important agricultural entities and districts. Ardlethan had a tin mine which flourished for many years until the world price of that commodity dropped through the floor. They are big wheat growing areas and sheep producing areas. Residents there shouldn't have to climb the nearest wheat silo to get coverage, to get reception, to get at least one bar on their mobile phone, particularly during harvest and particularly if there's a medical emergency. That is just not right.

Farmers these days expect better, farmers demand better and farmers deserve better. Particularly since we had the deregulation of the wheat industry, farmers need their mobiles whilst they're up the paddock, whilst they're on the chaser bins, whilst they're on the header and whilst they're stripping their crops to be able to sell those crops, that grain. Once upon a time you took it to the silo and the wheat board took care of it, and you got the price depending on the hard wheat or whatever quality and quantity you produced. Not these days—you can actually sell the wheat; there's a huge market for it. But you can't sell it if you can't get mobile coverage. Farmers tend to sometimes lose tens of thousands of dollars simply because they can't get the right price at the right time because they've got no damn coverage. It's just not good enough.

This government comes in here with legislation that is not going to fix the farmers left in the Kamarah district. I know that Telstra is working closely with the farmers and I appreciate the efforts to which the southern regional manager, Chris Taylor, is going to help them. I know there's been a delay in that, and I know that Telstra and Mr Taylor have been upfront with the residents. But it's incumbent upon this government to show a little bit of care and concern over those issues affecting those regional people.

I know the benefits of bringing mobile phone connectivity—and I appreciate this is about broadband, but it's all about data and having connections to the rest of the world—and how much the benefits bring to areas. I remember unveiling a tower in Goobarragandra, in the Tumut snowy valleys, and I know how pleased Tony Keremelevski was. He said that will actually save lives and he fought so hard for the benefits it brought to a little place called Murringo in the Young district of the Hilltops Council area. The number of small businesses run by women in that area who were going to be connected to the world because of the connection that we provided through the mobile phone tower at Murringo—