SPEECH

February 14, 2022

If you’re sitting in an office on Collins or Macquarie Street, you never worry about your mobile phone dropping out. But if your office is a tractor in Tallangatta, or a shearing shed in Ruffy, the story is very different.

This Government is failing regional Australians when it comes to phone and internet coverage, hobbling our ability to run businesses and keep up with global competition.

I want to thank Rob Jamieson from Ruffy for giving me this list of what a modern-day farmer needs good phone and internet coverage for on a recent trip to his town:

Banking is moving online, tax requirements including BAS statements and payroll are online, fulfilling regulatory requirements like biosecurity and the National Livestock Identification System, buying and selling of stock, agricultural census requirements, remote monitoring of irrigation, feed, water tanks, lightning trackers, equipment research and maintenance, security monitoring, data analytics to track yields for spraying and fertiliser, drones to monitor fencing and livestock, and of course emergency communications in fires, storms and floods.

The list goes on and on.

Farming in Australia is a high-tech industry Mr Deputy Speaker, but this Government provides farmers with phone and internet coverage for the dark ages.

I am committed to improving phone and internet technology for the people of Indi and I won’t stop pressuring this Government to show up for farmers, residents and all small businesses that deserve the tools they need to live and thrive in the 21st century.