Mr BONSON - 2005-08-18
Residents across the Northern Territory, from the bush to the cities and towns, are struggling with substandard telecommunications services. In bush communities, there is often no mobile coverage and, even in the towns, for example, at the RAAF Base, Darwin, in my electorate, Broadband access is a huge problem. What does the minister make of recent announcements from Canberra in relation to this matter?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Millner for his question. There is no doubt that the sale of Telstra is a very controversial issue. It sparked a lot of debate in the Australian community, particularly around the issue of telecommunications infrastructure in the bush. Heaven knows, the Northern Territory does have a lot of bush. We are a very dispersed population, and there are quite a number of remote communities who depend on telecommunications.
This government will fight for better telecommunications infrastructure in the bush. However, I would like to make it plain from the outset that, on a personal and government level, we work very well with Telstra Country Wide’s General Manager, Danny Honan. It is not for the want of trying by Telstra Country Wide and the local people. However, there is a wider issue here.
Over the past couple of decades, since I have lived in the Territory, anyway - and I started life here in a remote area - telecommunications infrastructure has been built on. However, there is a lot more to do. What is concerning this government is that we commissioned a report by respected consultants ACIL Tasman to look at what would be required to build up telecommunications in the bush in the Northern Territory. The figure that came out of that consultancy was that $100m is required to bring services up to scratch for those remote communities throughout the Northern Territory.
Even closer to Darwin, on ABC television last night, Mr Ray McCasker from the Virginia General Store commented on how difficult it was for him to receive his mobile phone coverage in that area. The RAAF Base is very close to Darwin. The member for Millner has been lobbying Telstra very strongly to have access to Broadband there. Similarly, at the Darwin Business Park, they do not have Broadband either. Even within Darwin, there are problems with some of the telecommunications, but especially so in the bush.
Senator Nigel Scullion was mentioned in the earlier question. He made some comments on radio today. In relation to what the Territory’s share of the sale of Telstra might be - and I will reiterate this government’s opposition to the sale of Telstra – Senator Scullion said that if Telstra is sold: ‘Well, $14m was the amount that I worked out’. Basically, Senator Scullion believes that $14m will do the trick. ACIL Tasman is a very respected consulting firm. They have come up with the figure of $100m.
Like the Acting Chief Minister, I applaud Senator Scullion for standing up over the nuclear waste dump. I am calling on Senator Scullion to also stand up for what is required to get the right telecommunications infrastructure within the Northern Territory. There must be a CLP meeting on this weekend. He also said:
I would also like to say to members of the CLP and Senator Scullion that $14m is not going to do it. We need $100m at least to fix the problems; to bring that telecommunications infrastructure up to scratch. We will keep on fighting, as a government, for a good deal for telecommunications for Territorians, particularly those in remote areas.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Millner for his question. There is no doubt that the sale of Telstra is a very controversial issue. It sparked a lot of debate in the Australian community, particularly around the issue of telecommunications infrastructure in the bush. Heaven knows, the Northern Territory does have a lot of bush. We are a very dispersed population, and there are quite a number of remote communities who depend on telecommunications.
This government will fight for better telecommunications infrastructure in the bush. However, I would like to make it plain from the outset that, on a personal and government level, we work very well with Telstra Country Wide’s General Manager, Danny Honan. It is not for the want of trying by Telstra Country Wide and the local people. However, there is a wider issue here.
Over the past couple of decades, since I have lived in the Territory, anyway - and I started life here in a remote area - telecommunications infrastructure has been built on. However, there is a lot more to do. What is concerning this government is that we commissioned a report by respected consultants ACIL Tasman to look at what would be required to build up telecommunications in the bush in the Northern Territory. The figure that came out of that consultancy was that $100m is required to bring services up to scratch for those remote communities throughout the Northern Territory.
Even closer to Darwin, on ABC television last night, Mr Ray McCasker from the Virginia General Store commented on how difficult it was for him to receive his mobile phone coverage in that area. The RAAF Base is very close to Darwin. The member for Millner has been lobbying Telstra very strongly to have access to Broadband there. Similarly, at the Darwin Business Park, they do not have Broadband either. Even within Darwin, there are problems with some of the telecommunications, but especially so in the bush.
Senator Nigel Scullion was mentioned in the earlier question. He made some comments on radio today. In relation to what the Territory’s share of the sale of Telstra might be - and I will reiterate this government’s opposition to the sale of Telstra – Senator Scullion said that if Telstra is sold: ‘Well, $14m was the amount that I worked out’. Basically, Senator Scullion believes that $14m will do the trick. ACIL Tasman is a very respected consulting firm. They have come up with the figure of $100m.
Like the Acting Chief Minister, I applaud Senator Scullion for standing up over the nuclear waste dump. I am calling on Senator Scullion to also stand up for what is required to get the right telecommunications infrastructure within the Northern Territory. There must be a CLP meeting on this weekend. He also said:
- Look, I will be speaking to my party and talking about the package with the CLP on Saturday and, no doubt, we will be making some announcements after that.
I would also like to say to members of the CLP and Senator Scullion that $14m is not going to do it. We need $100m at least to fix the problems; to bring that telecommunications infrastructure up to scratch. We will keep on fighting, as a government, for a good deal for telecommunications for Territorians, particularly those in remote areas.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016