Interview with Jaclyn Underwood, 2BS Live & Local

JACLYN UNDERWOOD: We welcome to the program now, Federal Communications Minister, Michelle Rowland. Good afternoon, Minister.

MICHELLE ROWLAND, MINISTER FOR COMMUNICATIONS: Good afternoon.

UNDERWOOD: Now, Labor set out an election promise if they were to get into Government, which you have, to pour millions of dollars into regional communications. How’s that work coming along?

ROWLAND: This is very now very advanced. We are designing a number of programs that we’ll take to the Budget in October and we really want to get this rolled out as a matter of priority. We’re very alive to the growth that is going on in the Central West. There is this ongoing encouragement for people to move to the regions and we saw during the pandemic how important connectivity is, so we’re very much alive to ensuring there is equality of opportunity for all citizens irrespective of where they live and in particular the challenges that are faced in regional communities.

UNDERWOOD: This is something we’ve been talking about and dealing with in the regions for many years and I had wonder what work was done and left by the previous Government in the way of a national audit of mobile coverage or is that something that you need to start from scratch with?

ROWLAND: Well, we know that there are coverage maps that are produced by the various carriers, but in some cases, as I’m sure your listeners will know, they’re not exactly always reliable. But we need a really good baseline to know where those coverage gaps are, so we announced that we would commence an independent national audit of mobile coverage to find out where those black spots are. and we’re aware that sometimes these change according to seasons and events. What we’ve decided to do is leverage off a great public asset, namely Australia Post. Australia Post has all these transport vehicles going to every location in the country, so we are going to be utilising those Australia Post vehicles to measure the mobile coverage and not only that there is a signal, for example, but also the quality as well. This will really help inform good policy going forward and benefit citizens.

UNDERWOOD: How do you navigate privatisation of mobile towers and different mobile carriers, especially within different states, because it’s all different from state to state?

ROWLAND: Well, that’s right, but I mean we do have an open market for mobile towers. The carrier licence regime is well understood, and we have had a liberalised environment for many years now in Australia. The issue here is that sometimes you will have infrastructure assets that are very beneficial obviously, but in some cases, it’s also the ability and the digital literacy of constituents to be able to utilise that. And I guess that leads well into another really important election commitment and that’s about our improving the digital hubs. We really want to make sure that people have the skills that they need to be able to utilise this technology. So, you are right, it is often a vexed issue and these are commercial decisions that are made about towers. Some of your listeners might be aware of a present deal that’s going through the ACCC being considered from Telstra and TPG. Ultimately this is about ensuring we’ve got not only a competitive market but also that consumers get the best deal. So, the ACCC is working on that and we’ll await their findings and take their advice, but in the end this is all about the long‑term interests of end users.

UNDERWOOD: The ACCC did say on the 24th June that it had initial concern at that merger because it would give Telstra substantial market share.

ROWLAND: Well, the issue here is one that will be examined through that competition lens for whether or not there is a lessening of competition in the market, and we know that your listeners will be very alive to there being a lack of services in some areas for some time. But we will need to let the ACCC do its job. It’s got that statutory role there. But I will say this: the Government will also monitor the regulatory settings to ensure they’re really keeping pace with those market developments. We want to support investment. We want to ensure competition is there in fixed line as well as mobile.

UNDERWOOD: Our cousins in the city are enjoying 5G connection and sometimes people in the bush have to walk up a hill to send an email or make a phone call. I can’t tell you how many times that’s happened on this program when conducting phone interviews. As Communications Minister, what’s your timeline for fixing these black spots?

ROWLAND: Well, we are getting on to this work now, and the Prime Minister’s given very clear instructions to his Ministers, including myself – and, that is, we will be judged by our delivery on these election commitments and not to waste a day. So, I can assure all your listeners that work is well underway in all of these areas. But it’s interesting that you mentioned 5G as well because we know that 5G technology can have particular benefits in that machine-to-machine connectivity and that is particularly useful in on-farm situations. We really want to support the productivity and safety of our farmers and that’s why one of our other election commitments was $30 million to help expand on-farm connectivity and enable better wireless extension solutions in the field. Your listeners may be aware of this new technology that’s coming out that utilises sensors and connected machinery technology to improve efficiency. Ultimately,  this is about really improving the efficiency of food and fibre production, and supporting the growth potential of the sector. So, we see this as really integral to ensuring that 5G delivers for farmers as well.

UNDERWOOD: Minister, I look forward to continuing the conversation with you. Thank you very much for taking the time to speak with me today.

ROWLAND: My pleasure.

UNDERWOOD: Thank you.

CONTACT: ARLEY BLACK

E: Arley.Black@mo.communications.gov.au