Mobile Phone Towers, Limestone Coast

Mr McBRIDE (MacKillop) (14:58): My question is to the Premier. Has the state government contacted the federal government seeking funding support for 27 new mobile phone towers in the MacKillop electorate? With your permission, Mr Speaker, and the leave of the house, I will explain.

Leave granted.

Mr McBRIDE: The Premier has announced that the state government will commit $5.5 million towards the Telstra South-East, South Australian project to enable the delivery of 27 new mobile base stations in the Limestone Coast. This funding commitment, whilst welcome, will still require federal investment for the proposal to be realised.

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS (Croydon—Premier) (14:58): I thank the member for MacKillop for his question because I know that this is something that has been a bit of a project of passion for him because it matters so much to his constituents. It is hard to believe that in one of the fastest growing regions of our state, home to our second largest city, that you don't have to travel very far before your mobile phone starts dropping out in, I've got to say, a pretty unacceptable way. It is something that I am sure all members of the house have experienced if they have had the chance to travel to the Limestone Coast, which I have a fair bit.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS: The members of the Liberal Party interject, sir.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS: That is fine—

Mr Pederick interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Hammond!

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS: That is their prerogative. I suspect there might be some places in the electorate of Hammond where they would wish they had an MP who has been able to deliver in a way that the member for MacKillop has been able to.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS: These 27 towers come at an approximate cost of about $1 million a pop, so the total package is $27.7 million. As the member for MacKillop outlined, this is a very substantial contribution from the state government to the tune of $5½ million. That's a big one considering what the past practice has been in South Australia regarding blackspot funding. This will be a really big step in the right direction if we can land the commonwealth government's funding.

The short answer to your question is, yes, we have been advocating to the federal government, particularly the federal communications minister, Michelle Rowland, that the federal government pick up their proportion of the deal because that would mean that we've got a contribution from industry, state government and local government, which I shouldn't neglect to mention. A number of councils, in fact almost all councils in the Limestone Coast, have contributed with the exception of one, which we're still working on. Now we just need the federal government to do their bit.

This is a major investment in communication. It isn't just about the convenience of people who have access to mobile phones in the South-East; it's also an economic measure, which I don't need to tell the member for MacKillop about. In terms of the productivity of both agricultural assets and the safety of workers in the forestry industry, almost every element of the economy in the Limestone Coast will be advantaged in terms of safety and productivity if we are able to get that commonwealth contribution. We sincerely hope that that occurs sooner rather than later so that we can get on with this task.

When we announced this massive investment in the South-East on the back of the country cabinet, with the member for MacKillop, we were overwhelmed by the positive response that we received, so now we just have to get on and deliver it. The only other party that should be acknowledged, which I haven't mentioned thus far, is Telstra. This was a Telstra initiative in conjunction with the state and local governments. It shows what can be achieved when we work collaboratively. The member for MacKillop and, I should also mention, the member for Mount Gambier were very quick to pick up the phone to me and my cabinet colleagues to see to this investment being realised, and we were very happy to oblige.

We mentioned earlier the strong economic performance of the state outpacing the rest of the nation; there are many parts of the South-East that are outpacing the rest of the state. They have delivered for the state. We've got to choose to invest in them. We thank the member for MacKillop for his cooperation, and we will continue to advocate to the commonwealth until we get the result that I know we all want.