UPPER SPENCER GULF

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY (14:34): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Regional Development a question about technology in the Upper Spencer Gulf.

Leave granted.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY: Would you please be quiet?

The PRESIDENT: Good idea. Funny how we all turn into comedians as soon as there is a bit of press in the gallery.

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY: As I said, it is amazing, isn't it? The British parliament: 620-odd members and they will listen to question time in peace, but not here, not from this lot.

The Hon. J.S.L. Dawkins: Get on with the question.

The PRESIDENT: Order! He's doing very well.

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY: Many of us rely on our mobile phones and computers to do our job, and it is hard to imagine what life would be like without ready—

The Hon. D.W. Ridgway interjecting:

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY: Would you be quiet, please?

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! They will quieten down in a minute.

The Hon. D.W. Ridgway interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Has the Hon. Mr Ridgway finished?

The Hon. D.W. Ridgway: For the time being.

The PRESIDENT: Good. The Hon. Mr Holloway.

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY: As I say, many of us rely on our mobile phones and computers to do our job, and it is hard to imagine what life would be like without ready access to the information we can access from the internet, and it is particularly relevant for people living in regional areas who have the added barrier to communication of significant distances. My question to the Minister for Regional Development is: will she inform the chamber how the government has recently moved to improve internet access in one of our regions?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Regional Development, Minister for Public Sector Management, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Consumer Affairs, Minister for Government Enterprises, Minister for Gambling) (14:35): I thank the honourable member for his most important question. Indeed, the internet and the digital economy have become more and more important in many areas of our lives. Whether we are involved with business connections and information or personal connections using social media, through sites such as Facebook and Twitter, accessing the internet by computer or mobile phones, using gaming consoles to play network games, catching up with TV shows that you have missed out on, using services such as the ABC's iView, teleconferencing or when your doctor receives your MRI scan electronically, all of these actions are part of the digital economy. Using Google to search the internet has become the first resource for many of us to obtain information, and what a great resource it is, too.

The transformative power and opportunities presented by this technology have been recognised by the Australian government, and that is why construction of the National Broadband Network (NBN) has commenced. As members would be aware, the NBN will involve the laying of fibre-optic cabling to 93 per cent of Australian homes, schools and businesses providing broadband speeds of up to 100 megabits per second. While the rollout of the optic fibre to provide high-speed connectivity is the solution adopted many areas, it will not be the only means to improve broadband availability, especially where there are very large distances and very small populations.

Maximising the potential of Australia's digital economy is expected to help deliver improved wellbeing in the form of better economic, education, health, social and environmental outcomes for all Australians. Participating in the digital economy provides opportunities to improve access to services for people living in rural and regional Australia and helps them overcome the tyranny of distance, which, as we know, many regions throughout South Australia do suffer from.

The federal government's Regional Telecommunications Independent Review estimated that $3.2 billion and 33,000 jobs are lost to regional areas across Australia every year due to inadequate broadband infrastructure; hence, an effective broadband service is obviously significant for us. It is significant for the delivery of key services in regional Australia, such as health, education and things like emergency services, and the efficiency and productivity of primary industries, transport, commerce and resource sectors and obviously encouraging social participation and inclusion.

That is why today I am very pleased to be able to announce a grant of just over $112,000 from the state government Enterprise Zone Fund—Upper Spencer Gulf and Outback to help Aussie Broadband Pty Ltd provide broadband services to towns in areas not covered by the National Broadband Network rollout. This funding will enable local businesses in the Port Pirie region to benefit from improved efficiency and productivity across the transport, commerce and resource sectors. It will also provide telecommunications infrastructure to support the development of mining offices beyond Port Pirie and have positive flow-on effects in terms of social inclusion and social participation for residents in those areas.

We should not underestimate the importance of this tool for regions. It has the ability to connect communities and provide very important business opportunities. I am advised that the commitment from the Enterprise Zone Fund will be used to support installation of wireless technology hardware on the existing antennae and also at the Port Pirie Hospital.

The project will provide connection to Adelaide through the existing Nextgen fibre network, extending coverage to a wide number of townships—places like Port Flinders, Gladstone, Georgetown, Laura, Stone Hut, Crystal Brook and a number of other communities. As a brief aside, it is very pleasing to note that this project has a number of funding partners, including the Department of Further Education, Science and Technology through the Rural Research and Development Program and Northern Areas Council as well as Aussie Broadband.

I believe this partnership across the three levels of government underlines the importance that projects such as this have across our whole community. As I have said in this place before, the Enterprise Zone Fund is a $4 million competitive fund and it provides up to 50 per cent of funding to projects to develop community capacity and regional development. The guidelines obviously encourage industries to apply for these grants. The potential applicants can access guidelines and obtain further information to assist them on our website.