House of Assembly Fifty-Third Parliament, Second Session (53-2) 53 2 Parliament of South Australia House of Assembly published Question Time Mobile Black Spot Program Mobile Black Spot Program Mr VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN House of Assembly Stuart Mobile Black Spot Program Mr VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN (Stuart) (15:20): A supplementary, sir: given the minister's answer, and the fact that New South Wales contributed $24 million to the program, Victoria contributed $21 million, Western Australia contributed $82 million to this program and Queensland contributed $10 million to the program, can the minister explain to the people of regional and remote South Australia why they should believe this government considers them a priority? The Hon. S.E. CLOSE House of Assembly Port Adelaide Minister for Education and Child Development Minister for the Public Sector Mobile Black Spot Program The Hon. S.E. CLOSE (Port Adelaide—Minister for Education and Child Development, Minister for the Public Sector) (15:20): People of regional South Australia should be very clear who is responsible for telecommunications, and it is the federal government. They can spread the responsibility and the blame around as much as they like, but everyone knows what the federal government has been up to. They have been retreating from areas that are traditionally their responsibility— The Hon. A. Koutsantonis interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: The Treasurer is warned for the second and final time. The Hon. S.E. CLOSE House of Assembly The Hon. S.E. CLOSE: I am concerned about the impact on regional South Australia of the decision the federal government has made, and I have therefore undertaken to diligently and carefully assess what occurred, why it occurred, and how it occurred in the other states. There is another factor, and that is the commercial proposition represented by mobile towers and therefore the contribution made by the telecommunications companies. So I need to carefully understand what part that played in the decisions that were made in the other states versus this state, and we will then make a considered decision, as a government, as round two becomes available.