Mobile Phone Blackspots

Mr McBRIDE (MacKillop) (14:24): My question is to the Premier. Has the Premier had discussions with Telstra about poor mobile coverage in our regional areas? With your leave, Mr Speaker, and the leave of the house, I will explain.

Leave granted.

Mr McBRIDE: Constituents have come to me in the last 12 months about the diminishing mobile service in my electorate, which has become even worse since the 3G has been switched off. Our office has received more than 100 complaints about our poor service. No doubt other regional members suffer the same sort of feedback.

The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN (Lee—Treasurer, Minister for Defence and Space Industries, Minister for Police) (14:25): I am grateful, as I know the house is grateful, for the member for MacKillop's persistent advocacy on behalf of his community. It is important—and doubly so in this instance—when it comes to mobile phone coverage, because there would be other members in this place, particularly members that represent regional South Australia, who would be familiar with parts of their community that don't always have equitable access to mobile phone coverage.

That is important for a whole bunch of reasons that any of us could readily imagine as we go through the regular tasks of daily life, but it becomes particularly important when circumstances become more demanding on people if there are challenges, such as what a lot of regional South Australia is going through with dry conditions, or if there is an emergency, whether it's a flood or a drought and so on.

I am pleased to advise the member for MacKillop that Telstra has been making representations to the state government about a partnership with Telstra and the government of South Australia, as well as the commonwealth government, to boost mobile phone coverage across the South-East of our state and that includes 27 new mobile base stations across the Limestone Coast. My advice is that that will add somewhere in the order of 2,400 square kilometres of new 4G coverage, approximately a 44 per cent increase in coverage for these important mobile telephone services.

For example, if the member for MacKillop was wanting to call a hotline about the condition of jetties, for example, he would be able to do that from the vast majority of his electorate once these base stations are installed. I am sure that would be welcome news for many people down in the South-East. Please don't ask me to repeat the number! So I am really pleased that, particularly the Department of Primary Industries, the Department of State Development and I think also the staff within Treasury and the South Australian Financing Authority, are working to conclude that agreement with Telstra, and that would be really welcome news for his constituents.