Senator McDONALD (Queensland) (21:23): Never before have we had a Prime Minister, a cabinet and indeed a whole government so focused on improving life for people outside of capital cities and, more importantly, building the wealth of Australia by increasing the GDP from our productive regions. Remote, regional and rural Australians are big winners from the Morrison government's economic and expenditure plan outlined in this year's budget. There are many obvious differences between life in the city and life in the country, but it is the things many of us take for granted that really matter in regional areas and are to determine if people, young people and families stay. The Australian federal government recognised this and has acted. We've committed $220 million for the first four rounds of the Mobile Black Spot Program and an extra $160 million for rounds 5 and 6 as part of the Stronger Regional Digital Connectivity Package. That's a total of $380 million. These four rounds are funding the delivery of 1,047 new mobile base stations. As of today, 744 new base stations have been activated and are delivering real benefits to Australian communities. There is, of course, more to do. And that is coming. We have the telecommunications reform package legislation due to be tabled. It aims to promote competition and improve access to broadband services for everyone, especially those in regional, rural and remote areas. This package establishes a legal guarantee that all Australians can access super-fast broadband regardless of where they live or work. The reforms also include the introduction of the Regional Broadband Scheme, which will secure a long-term funding mechanism for NBN Co's fixed wireless and satellite networks, predominantly serving regional Australia. The universal service obligation ensures that all people in Australia, regardless of where they live or carry on business, have reasonable access to voice services via standard telephones and pay phones. Telstra is funded annually by the government and the telecommunications industry levy, $170 million and $100 million respectively, to deliver the USO and will continue to do so until 2021. And, if passed, the Telecommunications Reform Package will include the introduction of the Regional Broadband Scheme, the RBS, which will secure a long-term funding mechanism for NBN Co's fixed wireless and satellite networks, again, predominantly servicing regional Australia. This will provide funding certainty for essential broadband services currently provided by NBN Co in regional parts of Australia. Sky Muster Plus, launched on 12 August this year, addresses concerns about restrictive data limits in regional and remote locations. The $60 million Regional Connectivity Program is the other key component of the Stronger Regional Digital Connectivity Package. It includes a $53 million competitive grant program to address local telecommunications priorities in regional, rural and remote areas; $3 million for a digital tech hub to address and improve digital literacy; funding for trials of alternative voice technologies for Australians who live in the most remote parts of the country; and funding to investigate better ways to deliver the universal service guarantee, particularly for the delivery of voice services in regional Australia. I've talked a lot about connectivity, but why is it important? Last week, the AgriFutures Australia, ably led by the Hon. Kay Hull, held its rural women's award. Jo Palmer was this year's winner, carrying on from the extraordinary work of Krista Watkins last year. Jo Palmer's award was for a really interesting project. Her business connects women who've moved into regional Australia—women with qualifications who are currently being underutilised—with businesses which are able and prepared to have remote workers. Jo estimates that with a six per cent increase in rural and regional women's engagement, it would increase productivity for the nation by $25 billion a year. Surely this is a program that we need to support, but it can't happen without terrific internet connectivity that allows these jobs and these women to hold these jobs. Regional and remote communities will also benefit from more affordable and reliable power under the Morrison government's plan to support to installation of microgrids, which are standalone power systems that can maintain a connection to the grid or operate off-grid. The Regional and Remote Communities Reliability Fund will support up to 50 off-grid and fringe-of-grid communities to investigate whether establishing a microgrid is cost effective and whether existing off-grid capabilities can be upgraded with modern technology. The $50.4 million fund will unlock private sector and community investment in new generation and storage. The fund will also guide communities towards additional support, including through the Australian Renewable Energy Agency and the Clean Energy Finance Corporation. The Morrison government is taking action to drive down prices by increasing competition and supply in the market. Unlike Labor, who have abandoned regional Australia, we understand the importance of investing in our regional and remote communities to ensure future energy supplies. We have proven this by providing a grant of $990,150 to Daintree Renewable Energy Pty Ltd to help the Daintree community in Far North Queensland establish Australia's first solar-to-hydrogen-based microgrid. As I said, the government will also support up to 50 off-grid and fringe-of-grid communities to continue investigating these microgrids. The Regional and Remote Communities Reliability Fund is part of the Morrison government's $2 billion plan to deliver power that is more affordable and more reliable to Australian families and businesses. This is critical. Australia has committed a huge amount to renewable energies, far more per capita than other economies. But now we have to utilise those investments and ensure that communities have reliable and affordable baseload electricity. I think it is probably hard for those of us who live in cities to understand the frustration of having the electricity go off every time you turn on the oven or turn on another air conditioner in your local community. Other budget measures set aside especially for regional Australia include federal assistance grants to local councils. The coalition has already boosted grants to Queensland councils by $10 million in 2019-20 to more than $250 million. The grants also include a separate road-funding component of $73.4 million. This is critically important. Councils, large and small, form the core of our society, but regional, rural and remote councils are doing it particularly hard. It is crucial that the FAGs that are currently allocated have some sort of mechanism to allow remote communities to receive more. They have ageing sewerage infrastructure, they have ageing community infrastructure and they have a very small population base over which to spread that, so they will require greater support from the federal and state governments. We also have the Northern Australia Beef Roads Program, worth $100 million, which will build prosperity in the country's interior by making it easier and safer for tourists and communities, and for cattle to get to market. This is part of a wider roads program worth more than $14.5 billion for regional Queensland roads and transport over the next four years. I've already spoken a little bit about the importance of regional and rural economies. Just recently, the Productivity Commission handed down a draft report where it discussed whether or not the zone rebates and FBT incentives have been worthwhile for the Australian economy. I would say to you that we should support zone rebates and any other incentives that make it easier for businesses and individuals to live in regional Australia. They are an important part of encouraging and supporting families and individuals who live in communities that have higher costs of living and are further away from large communities but are great places to live and raise families, and, of course, great places to have businesses, particularly in food production. In north-west Queensland this year, floods wreaked havoc on cattle production but more than $3.3 billion has been paid or committed to assist affected people, businesses and communities with recovery and reconstruction through the north-west LIRA program. This includes over $87 million paid to 1,632 primary producers in special disaster assistance recovery grants; $300 million for North Queensland restocking, replanting & on-farm infrastructure grants; and $121 million in assistance to be paid to the Queensland government under the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements. The relief in that part of Australia, not only due to the money but also due to Scott Morrison's personal care, is still keenly felt and won't be forgotten. As I travelled around Northern Queensland recently I met with people in Mount Isa, Winton, Richmond and Hughenden who came up quietly and wanted me to personally take their thanks back to the Prime Minister. They wanted me to tell him of their gratitude, not just for the funding—which of course was important—but most importantly they wanted me to tell him how grateful they were that he had sent them a message that he and Australia still valued farmers. It is clear that the coalition is the only government looking outside the city and seeing the worth of regional, rural and remote Australia. But we don't only talk about it; we back it up with real consultation, real spending and real action, because regional people matter. Question agreed to.