Mobile Phone Towers

Mr McBRIDE (MacKillop) (15:01): My question is to the Premier. When will we see the rollout of the first 27 mobile phone towers that were promised to my electorate back in 2023? With your leave, Mr Speaker, and the leave of the house, I will explain.

Leave granted.

Mr McBRIDE: We have funding commitments from three tiers of government but still no announcement on when the first towers will be delivered.

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS (Croydon—Premier) (15:02): I know the member for MacKillop has a work ethic that might mean he works on Christmas, unlike the member for Hammond. We all know the member for Hammond did not have too big of an agenda on Christmas Day all those years ago, and I want to thank the member for Unley for reminding the house of how frequently the member for Hammond seems to have questions over his travel arrangements.

Mr Pederick: At least I answered the question.

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS: I don't know if that would have helped or hindered you at the time, mate; goodness knows.

The Hon. A. Koutsantonis: You have the right to remain silent.

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS: That's right. I want to thank the member for MacKillop for his question because the member for MacKillop, along with a few others in his community, has been incredibly steadfast in his perseverance around getting better mobile phone coverage in his community. The member for MacKillop has been on the phone to me and a number of other members in this place regarding this issue over a sustained period.

It was historic in many respects that, as a result of the member for MacKillop's agitation, we were able to get this agreement in place, which is an agreement between basically every council on the Limestone Coast, bar one, to support and improve mobile phone coverage with the federal government plus industry, because the forestry industry stepped up to the plate, and then, of course, the state government did in an unprecedented way. This is a program that is now exclusively with Telstra, I am advised. My office has spoken to Telstra regarding this; in fact, I chased this up in advance of my visit there last week because I anticipated it would be raised.

Telstra is currently going through the design and development approval process for each of the 27 sites. Individual approvals are then received from the various regulatory agencies, then Telstra begins construction on the towers. I am advised that Telstra is hopeful to have the first towers constructed before the end of this year, so once the approvals are given, it actually can happen pretty quickly. The only thing it will depend on is the planning process that underpins the development of the site.

It is Telstra's view, or Telstra's intent, that all 27 towers will be fully operational by the end of next year. I would love that to be this year, but obviously there is a process that needs to be gone through. My office continues to be engaged with Telstra on this, and I take the opportunity to thank Telstra for their recent communications with my office to keep us up to date on it.

As the member for MacKillop is already aware, this is going to add an extra just under two and a half thousand square kilometres of new 4G coverage across the South-East, and 1,800 new dwellings will receive coverage for the first time. Of course, it is jointly funded, including our contribution of $5.5 million. There are a few different elements to this that make it worthwhile. The first, of course, is convenience for constituents, and the second goes to safety for the community around it, particularly on our roads and so forth.

However, one of the really exciting elements about this project, which transcends convenience and safety, is the uplift we will see in economic productivity in the region, particularly amongst the primary production sector, which is becoming increasingly sophisticated and increasingly advanced in the technologies it deploys to produce what they do as efficiently as anyone around the world. This level of connectivity will only enhance that, and I spoke to some people within the livestock sector about the sorts of ways they intend to use the technology only last week.

I commend the member for MacKillop for his diligence in pursuing this. We will continue to keep the house updated on this project, and look forward to those first towers being operational this year.