Julian Leeser
Berowra · Liberal Party · Australia
“Third, the bill gives the minister unilateral power to impose conditions on higher education providers under the new section 36-65 of the HESA, which is introduced by this bill. The current version of section 36-65 of the HESA requires that there be an agreement in place with the provider. The new version does not.”
“Presumably, if you're a university and you get a bad decision, then your only recourse is judicial review, litigation or a constitutional writ. It's not a great option when the target of your litigation will be the minister who will make the future decisions that shape your ongoing financial viability.”
“This bill changes it from capped funding to capped places, but the places cost different amounts depending on the course. The Commonwealth contribution to a history degree is $1,316; agriculture costs $32,400. Could a university which typically teaches history be allocated 100 places and decide to convert them to agriculture?”
“I said very clearly that I understand the value of international students to Australia. I also said: We will want to make changes to the settings around international students, but I want the sector to know that we want to work closely with you to develop these policies and announce them in due course.”
“This so-called system steward, ATEC, can be bypassed at any time by a minister choosing to exercise this power. Again, this means universities are, under this bill, subject to extraordinary control by this minister or any future minister.”
“He said that Australian kids should be taught Australian values, which he defined as democracy, the rule of law, basic freedoms and a fair go.”
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“This motion from the member for Barton provides all members with an opportunity to reflect on the cultural and religious diversity of their electorate, and I thank her for putting it forward. In the electorate of Berowra, we have a very strong group of religious communities of a range of different faiths. Sixty-five per cent of people that live in my electorate are adherents to some form of faith tradition, with 47 per cent being Christian, 6½ per cent being Hindu, 3.2 per cent being Buddhist, slightly under two per cent being Muslim and under one per cent being Sikhs, Jews, Baha'i and Zoroastrians. So we have quite a degree of religious diversity in our community. One of the communities with whom I have had lots to do over my service as the member for Berowra is the Mahamevnawa Buddhist monastery at Cattai.”
“It's a club built on participation, teamwork and the simple joy of the love of sport. We're fortunate to have BlowFly Cricket in our part of Sydney, and it's an important part of the sporting life of our community. I want to acknowledge some of the people who make it happen: founder and volunteer manager Mark Rushton; President Shabana Hakim; Secretary Kate Guild; Vice President Bill Peterkin; Club Person of the Year Azaan Hakim; the oldest volunteer, 91-year-old Dougal Graham; Young Volunteer of the Year Riku Leonard; captains Maddie Jones and Ronnie MacKenzie; and Kakra and Penni Yeboah for their leadership in the club's inclusive volunteer program, as well as the dozens of other volunteers, parents, local sponsors and supporters who make running this club possible.”
“BlowFly Cricket is a unique institution in our community, operating within the Hornsby Ku-ring-gai & Hills District Cricket Association. BlowFly Cricket is an all-abilities cricket club that gives people with disability the chance to take part in the game and build skills and develop a love of cricket. I recently visited BlowFly Cricket at James Park oval in Hornsby. My bowling was promptly hit for six, and I dropped a few classic catches, but I also managed to score a few runs. Most importantly, I had the chance to meet people who loved the game and the community that surrounds it. What stands out about BlowFly Cricket is that there's a place for everyone. Some take to the field as players. Others serve as scorers, officials or volunteers or help run the barbecue on the sidelines.”
“Don't take my word for it. Look at the publicly available reports. Australian government schools funding is published each year on the Department of Education website. In 2014, total funding to the states and territories and non-government schools was $13.77 billion, in 2015 it was $14.95 billion, in 2016 it was $16.14 billion, in 2017 it was $17.63 billion, in 2018 it was $18.8 billion, in 2019 it was $21.37 billion, in 2020 it was $21.99 billion, in 2021 it was $23.8 billion, and in 2022 it was $25.59 billion. The coalition has increased— (Time expired)”
“Compared with South Australia, it's $900 less per student, and for Tasmania, it's $1,740 less per student for every single student. Maybe if Victorian Labor hadn't paid $600 million for another country to host the Commonwealth Games, they wouldn't be falling behind under this funding agreement. Maybe if the Allan government hadn't funnelled $15 billion of taxpayer money to the CFMEU, kids in Victoria would have a chance at a better education. This is the CFMEU-Labor cartel in action. Labor's run Victoria's economy into the sand, and it's Victoria's schoolchildren who now suffer the consequences. I want to finish by putting some facts on the table, because over the last week I've seen the falsehoods around cuts to education being peddled by Labor. The simple fact is that annual school funding nearly doubled under the coalition.”
“Second, it simply maintains the status quo; there is no increase on the table. If you put the Northern Territory to one side, as the Prime Minister himself has done, recognising the unique challenges in the Territory, then, thanks to the Allan and Albanese Labor governments, Victorian government schools have the lowest funding in the entire country. The funding for Victorian public schools is lower than the funding in New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia, the ACT, Tasmania and South Australia, and this is entirely the fault of the Allan and Albanese Labor governments. Compared with New South Wales, in this year alone, high schoolers in Victorian public schools are shortchanged by $860 per student for every single one of the 667,000 Victorian students.”
“When the Prime Minister stood up in March last year and said every jurisdiction was on track to receive an increase in school funding and to receive the school full school resourcing standard, it simply wasn't true. It simply was not true. The proof is publicly available. To get an increase in funding, what you need is a document called a bilateral agreement between the Commonwealth and the state. In March last year, there was no bilateral agreement with Western Australia and no bilateral agreement with Victoria. It was a falsehood. Labor must have been feeling the pressure of that untruth, because, in desperation, in December 2025, the Albanese and Allan Labor governments signed a stopgap funding measure that lasts for just 12 months. There are two things to say about this. First, it expires at the end of the year.”
“In the ACT, with it's 25-year Labor government, I'm told it's now safer to be an inmate in a correctional facility than it is to be a school principal. It's a disgrace. Enough is enough. The coalition says enough. We back principals. We respect their authority. We believe a school leader should be able to walk the grounds of their own school without fear. We believe governments should empower principals. That's what we stand for: empower principals to enforce discipline, empower principals to maintain safety. This government has, for the better part of a week, been congratulating itself on full and fair funding. But in Victoria the spin doesn't match the facts. The government has been constantly gaslighting.”
“Reporting today on the Australian Principal Occupational Health, Safety and Wellbeing Survey says 47.8 per cent of principals experienced violence in 2025, and 53.7 per cent faced threats of violence. Principals are being punched, kicked, pinned against walls, followed home, stalked by cars with headlights off and pelted with rocks. They're having chairs, tables and bookshelves thrown at them and are being threatened with death and rape, and forced to hide in locked rooms. Some have received broken bones, cuts and severe bruising in the attacks. The ACT is the worst jurisdiction. The ACT, under Labor, had an increase in physical violence against principals of 150 per cent between 2011 and 2025.”
“by leave—I rise to speak on the topic of investing and supporting schools. There are two things to be said on this topic. If a government cannot keep principals safe, it is not supporting schools. And, if a government can't adequately fund Victorian public schools properly, it's not investing in schools. On both counts, the Albanese government has failed. Today's Daily Telegraph and Herald Sun reports are a disgraceful read. They report violence against school principals has surged by up to 150 per cent since 2011. They report some principals are too frightened to leave their offices at drop off and pick up. They carry the chilling warning that, on the current path, 'someone is going to die'. The wider data is grim.”
“The Prime Minister needs to get the petrol to hundreds of stations that have run dry and deliver relief for Australians who can't afford to fill up even when they can find fuel. About 50 minutes ago, the Prime Minister announced he will introduce our policy of halving the fuel excise for the next three months. Our policy will cut prices by 26c a litre and save Australians around $16 million a day. That's an important step. This afternoon the Prime Minister needs to focus on three more of our calls: introduce a detailed plan to distribute fuel supplies to where they're needed most, be transparent in providing daily updates on where the fuel shortages are occurring and introduce a longer term plan to address the petrol crisis which is occurring on his watch.”
“In the Berowra electorate families, tradies, truckies and small businesses are being hit from every direction. They've already been battered by Labor's inflation, high interest rates, rising grocery bills and soaring power prices. Now they're confronting a fuel supply crisis and a fuel price crisis at the same time. People are pulling up to the bowser shocked by the price, and too often they're finding there's no fuel at all. The Prime Minister still has no plan—no urgency—and has provided no leadership. Only days ago, his part-time energy minister was assuring Australians there was no fuel crisis at all. We might not be able to control the war, but we can control how we respond.”
“On a personal level, I want to say how much I've appreciated his friendship and his very good sense of humour. Archbishop Anthony Randazzo is one of the finest people I know, and I've been lucky to work with him during his time as the Bishop of Broken Bay. On behalf of everyone in our community I wish him good luck and godspeed, and we will all be praying for him in his new role.”
“He encouraged Christians to put a candle in the window at Christmas to demonstrate solidarity with the Jewish community and devoted his homily on Christmas Eve to combating antisemitism. Last year he contacted me in early December to tell me he was going to do the same thing again. He put out a post on 13 December with his candle in the window, and then the massacre at Bondi occurred the following evening. On that night he led our country by example. The simple act of putting a candle in the window to show solidarity with the Jewish people captured the imagination of our country, and millions of people, from the Governor-General down, followed his example. His local leadership has been amazing. His moral leadership has been nation defining.”
“He participated in the synod for a synodal church and implemented those ideas in Broken Bay, encouraging both ordained and lay leaders to play a role in the leadership of the church. Building on the foundations of his predecessor, Archbishop Peter Comensoli, he transformed Catholic schools with new governance, improved accountability, improved academic performance and a greater focus on Catholic identity that has seen Broken Bay schools go to over 19,000 children, the highest number ever educated by the diocese. His pioneering work on the Eileen O'Connor schools for children with disability and neurodiversity has been a great innovation. In 2024, when, for the first time in many years, Christmas and Chanukah coincided, and horrified at the antisemitism taking root in this country, he brought together faith leaders from across his diocese.”
“Pope Francis, seeing his gifts for leadership, appointed him the President of the Federation of Catholic Bishops Conferences of Oceania and the Apostolic Administrator of the Ordinariate of Our Lady of the Southern Cross. Catholics in Broken Bay will be feeling mixed emotions about this appointment: on the one hand, enormous pride that the gifts of the man who has steered the church in our community have been recognised and, on the other hand, a sense of sadness that we're losing such a good shepherd. Archbishop Anthony's leadership in Broken Bay has been transformative. He led the church through the challenging period of COVID, when churches closed and people were physically isolated, and then he brought people back to physical worship again.”
“On behalf of the parliament and the people of Berowra, I want to congratulate Archbishop Anthony Randazzo, the Catholic Bishop of Broken Bay, who was appointed by Pope Leo as Prefect of the Dicastery for Legislative Texts. This is the highest role currently held by an Australian in the Vatican Curia. He's one of a handful of Australians who have run dicasteries, including cardinals Pell, Cassidy and Knox. Archbishop Randazzo grew up in Queensland, where his father migrated from Lipari, Italy, and ran a greengrocery. Ordained as a priest in 1991, he worked in Rome as a canon lawyer. He returned to Australia running the seminary in Brisbane before being appointed the auxiliary bishop in Sydney in 2016 and the Bishop of Broken Bay in 2019.”
“The coalition believes in thorough oversight, and the Senate committee process provides just that. We don't oppose this bill—the law enforcement and prosecution powers contained in it are necessary, and our agencies deserve certainty—but we will not allow this government to quietly extend critical powers without accountability for its broader failure to deliver the comprehensive reform that Australia's national security community has been calling for. I thank the House. Debate adjourned.”
“It accepted the principle of reform and it did almost nothing. Nearly four years—that's how long this government has had to progress a comprehensive overhaul of our electronic surveillance framework. Instead, here we are today, extending a sunset clause because there's no broader reform legislation to replace it. This extension is not a policy achievement; it's an admission of failure. We believe that this bill should be referred to the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee for inquiry and report. While much of this bill appears technical, several elements—including the change to mixed-weight drug thresholds, the DPP conflict-of-interest mechanism and the timing provisions for extradition warrants—warrant proper parliamentary scrutiny.”
“This bill extends them for a further three years to 4 September 2029. The coalition supports extending these powers—of course we do; we created the powers—but here's the problem: we shouldn't be in a position where the parliament is scrambling to extend a sunset clause at the eleventh hour because this government has spent nearly four years failing to progress the broader electronic surveillance reform agenda. The Independent National Security Legislation Monitor, or the INSLM, conducted a comprehensive review of these powers, and he made several recommendations in his report. The Comprehensive Review of the Legal Framework of the National Intelligence Community was clear: reform of electronic surveillance laws is becoming more urgent. The Albanese government received that review.”
“Schedule 5 makes a minor consequential amendment to the telecommunications interception legislation following changes to the Integrity Oversight Victoria arrangements. I want to turn to the element of the bill that deserves the most careful scrutiny. That is the extension of the cybercrime disruption powers under schedule 1. In 2021, the coalition government introduced the Surveillance Legislation Amendment (Identify and Disrupt) Act, the SLAID Act. It contained landmark reforms that gave law enforcement the tools to actively disrupt criminal networks operating online. It provided for data disruption warrants, network activity warrants and account takeover warrants. The powers were designed not merely to watch criminals operate but to stop them. Those powers are subject to a sunset clause set to expire on 4 September this year.”
“Schedule 1 clarifies AFP policing powers at Western Sydney International (Nancy Bird Walton) Airport; modernises how warrant applications are made, allowing electronic and telephone applications in place of cumbersome paper based processes; and makes sensible technical changes for ACT Policing. These are sensible, practical changes that the coalition supports. Schedule 2 moves certain serious drug offences to a mixed-weight approach for calculating drug thresholds, broadly aligning Commonwealth law and most state and territory frameworks. Schedule 3 creates a mechanism for managing conflicts of interest involving the Director of Public Prosecutions. Schedule 4 clarifies arrest powers and streamlines extradition procedures.”
“I rise to speak on the Crimes and Other Legislation Amendment (Omnibus No. 1) Bill 2026. The coalition will not be opposing this bill in the House. However, I want to put on the record some important concerns about what this bill represents and, more tellingly, what it does not. This is an omnibus bill comprising five schedules that make a range of amendments to Commonwealth criminal justice, law enforcement and prosecution legislation. On the face of it, much of the bill is technical or procedural in nature. The coalition accepts that a modern parliament must maintain workable, up-to-date frameworks for policing and prosecution, and where these amendments do that we support them.”
“So today I encourage everyone across the electorate to sign my petition, to get involved in the campaign, to honour not only a remarkable Paralympian but a remarkable Australian and an inspiration to people not just in the Berowra community but throughout the whole country—Ellie Cole.”
“It's a place where swimmers dream. It's where they build lifelong skills. It's home to both the Berowra and the Hornsby swim clubs, where the next generation of swimmers are learning their craft. When I speak with the coaches, with the parents and with the young athletes, they tell me the same thing: Ellie Cole inspires them. She shows what's possible with hard work, discipline and resilience. Renaming the facility would not only celebrate her extraordinary achievements but embed her example into the everyday life of our community. Her story would inspire the next generation of young swimmers walking through those doors, who, for many years, would be reminded that greatness can begin right here in the Berowra electorate.”
“Ellie's many accomplishments include authoring a children's book, Feli x and His Fantastic Friends , which encourages young readers to embrace inclusion and celebrate diverse abilities. Ellie was also recognised with an AM in 2024 for her service to sport and her advocacy for inclusion. In the Berowra community we honour our heroes so that they might inspire the next generation. That's why I recently launched a petition to rename the Hornsby Aquatic and Leisure Centre in honour of Ellie Cole. The proposal is more than simply naming a building; it's about acknowledging excellence, character and contribution. It's an opportunity to pay tribute to one of Australia's most decorated athletes and one of its most influential Paralympians. The Hornsby Aquatic and Leisure Centre is used every week by young, aspiring swimmers.”
“She's a vital part of our community. Ellie's story is well known and deeply inspiring. As a young child she faced a life-changing experience, losing her legs to cancer, and part of her rehabilitation she took up swimming which soon became not just therapy but a passion. What followed were years of discipline, sacrifice and determination culminating in 17 Paralympic medals and the honour of carrying the Australian flag at the Tokyo 2020 closing ceremony. Ellie's talents and leadership extend far beyond the pool. She's also played wheelchair basketball at the national level, and is now a prominent disability advocate and television commentator with roles including television host and commentator for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and now the Winter Olympics.”
“As Australians tune into the Paralympics this year, many will recognise one of the voices guiding them through the action, Ellie Cole. Ellie is far more than just a competitor; she's one of Australia's greats of sport. Across an extraordinary career spanning four Paralympics, Ellie amassed an incredible 17 medals in the pool. She is the most decorated Australian female Paralympian of all time and one of Australia's greatest competitors. Today, Ellie Cole is not just a celebrated athlete but a valued member of our community. A division having been called in the House of Representatives— Sitting suspended from 10:06 to 10:18 Today Ellie Cole is not just a celebrated athlete. She is a valued member of our community, choosing the Berowra electorate to live in towards the end of her Paralympic career and to now raise her family in.”
“I want to see real competition, real standards and real consequence for failure, and I want to see my community treated seriously, not as an afterthought. The people of Berowra don't want slogans; they want signal. They don't want excuses; they want service. They don't want a legal fiction that says coverage exists while they stand outside searching for a bar on a screen. They want a system that works when it matters. That's the test the parliament should apply to this bill, and that's not too much to ask for in modern Australia. We shouldn't settle for less.”
“I say to the people in my electorate who've endured these problems for years: make a submission. Put your experience on the record. Tell the committee what the coverage maps say and what your phone actually does. Tell them about the dropped calls, the outages, the lack of accountability, the confusion between carriers, the poor complaint handling and the safety implications. This isn't just a policy debate for experts in Canberra. It's a practical question about whether families and businesses in Berowra get the service they pay for and the service they need. I want to see the telcos held to account. I want to see the law catch up with the reality that mobile service is now an essential service.”
“It should be measured by objective outcomes: whether calls connect, texts send, outages fall, emergency access improves, prices remain fair, competition strengthens and communities like mine actually notice the difference. A serious parliament doesn't write a broad, blank cheque just because the headline sounds good. Flexibility isn't a substitute for clarity, and delegation is not a substitute for design. A law that's insufficiently clear or reliant on delegation demands scrutiny. That's why I welcome this bill going to the Senate committee. It creates a proper opportunity to test the bill's underlying assumptions. It allows us to examine costs, competition impacts, emergency access, device compatibility, affordability, implementation and the real meaning of core terms like 'reasonably available' and 'equitable'.”
“This bill gives the minister wide powers to determine standards, benchmarks, rules, coverage areas, exemptions and even timing through legislative instruments. I understand why the government says flexibility is needed in a developing technology market, but flexibility without guardrails creates uncertainty for consumers and industry alike. Australians are entitled to know what standards will be used, what success will look like, what redress consumers will receive when service is sold and service isn't delivered, and what independent oversight there will be of ministerial decisions. A universal obligation shouldn't be measured by optimism.”
“One of the enduring frustrations in my electorate has been that, for too much of Berowra, Telstra has been the monopoly or near monopoly provider. I've made no secret of my frustration with Telstra. I believe in competition. It disciplines market behaviour, and lack of competition breeds complacency. When coverage is weak and customer service is poor, consumers need alternatives. Too often they don't have them. This bill creates obligations on Telstra, Optus and TPG. But, if the practical path to meeting those obligations depends heavily on a small number of global satellite operators which become price takers in that market, what are the consequences? Will this bill increase competition or entrench it in a different layer? Are we expanding choice or merely changing the form of dependency? There's also the broader accountability issue.”
“In an emergency, a citizen does not care about the contractual relationship between a terrestrial carrier and a satellite operator. They care whether the call or text goes through. They care whether triple zero works. They care whether the phone in a vehicle works. They care whether it works in a storm, when the carrier is down or when their family needs to be contacted. This isn't something to treat casually. In an emergency, 'outdoors' is not a neat legal category. People are in houses. People are in cars. People are on roads, trapped by floodwaters, evacuating with children and trying to pass on a message. The expectation created by a universal outdoor mobile obligation is that the call will get through. The question is whether it actually will. The final issue to raise is about competition, accountability and market structure.”
“Joseph, from Epping, says his NBN service has repeatedly failed, despite years and years of complaints. When services collapse, people don't just lose entertainment; they lose the ability to call family, receive alerts, process payments, work remotely, access telehealth, open security gates, coordinate local response and, in the worst cases, reach help. This bill is meant to support voice and SMS. Low-Earth-orbit direct device technologies based on satellites support only SMS functionality, but in Australia emergency services can only be directly contacted via voice calls. Stakeholders have already made the case for the text to triple zero and emergency roaming or camp-on arrangements, where a user on one type of plan can access another network. That's exactly the kind of issue that a Senate inquiry should test.”
“Berowra is a beautiful electorate—the most beautiful electorate in the country—but it's also disaster prone, such as the Hawkesbury floods that we've had repeatedly since 2020. There is bushfire risk. We know that because of the 26 Rural Fire Service stations that exist in my electorate. There is steep terrain. There are river communities, isolated pockets and areas of heavy tree cover—and communities that depend on volunteers who turn out in moments of danger. In that context, telecommunications is not a convenience; it is critical infrastructure. COVID exposed some of the weaknesses in our telco settings. Floods exposed them again. Every major outage does the same. The stories from my electorate keep piling up. Peter from Mount Colah reported losing landline and internet services for nearly a month.”
“Will people in my electorate be left cross-subsidising a more expensive service model that still leaves them behind? This leads directly to a further point. If this reform only works for people with newer phones, then it will not be a universal obligation on the telcos in any meaningful sense. If the quid pro quo is that the telcos provide universal outdoor access, but only if you stump up for a new handset, then there are deep issues within this bill. It will be a premium, niche service dressed up in universal language. No Australian should have to buy a new, expensive handset just to send a text from a black spot or to make a basic emergency call. The fourth issue is safety, resilience and emergency access.”
“Does it imply that telcos have an obligation to ensure access is not tied to the newest devices and handsets? What is the delivery mechanism? Is it low-Earth-orbit satellite and direct-to-device technology? That technology is promising—it may well be part of the answer. For some people who gave up on legacy broadband, satellite has already been a lifeline, but promising technology is not the same as affordable technology. Consumer groups have warned that these types of solutions will simply be out of reach for too many. And, of course, there's the question of who bears the cost. It is the serious question of who pays. Is it the telco, the taxpayer, the industry levy or is it the consumer—quietly, every month on a larger and larger bill?”
“Real life happens inside homes, inside workplaces and inside vehicles during emergencies. In 2021, I put forward an exposure draft of a telecommunications reform proposal that was deliberately broader. It aimed to ensure people could use a mobile phone inside a home or a workplace, not just outside and under ideal conditions. It's regrettable that this bill doesn't go that far. The third issue is the term 'equitable basis'. This bill is designed to ensure that mobile coverage is reasonably available outdoors on an equitable basis. What does that mean? Again, the phrase is undefined, but it's doing a lot of work. Does it mean that people will actually be able to afford the service? Does it mean the service must be available on ordinary retail terms?”
“That's the difference between being able to make a call or not. If a person has to stand at a particular corner of a paddock or walk down a driveway or leave a house to stand on the verge or climb onto a hill or wait for the weather to clear, is that really service that's reasonably available? If a call drops out repeatedly but a text somehow gets through, is that reasonable? If coverage exists on a map but not in real conditions, is that reasonable? If the service works outdoors but not inside a family home, a shopfront, a vehicle or a train platform, is that good enough for a country that says that this will be universal? When I listen to the experiences of people in my community and I compare them to the text of the bill, these are the questions that come to mind, because Australians don't live their lives in perfect test conditions.”
“It's a direct hit to the bottom line. It's a direct hit to the pay that those business owners take home in order to put food on the tables of their families and to pay their mortgages. These stories matter because this bill will succeed or fail not on a press release, a coverage map or a departmental diagram but on the lived experience of households, small businesses, commuters, carers, volunteers and emergency services. The second issue is the bill's core language. What does it actually mean for coverage to be 'reasonably available outdoors'? That phrase sits at the centre of the bill. It's not defined, but it's doing an enormous amount of work. Consumer groups have warned that it might create uncertainty, inconsistent application and scope for providers to interpret their obligations too narrowly. That's not a drafting quibble.”
“Then there is Wendy, from West Pennant Hills. She reported a lengthy outage that disrupted her work as a medical specialist working from home, with consequences not only for her but for her patients as well. Rhonda from Berrilee remains on ageing infrastructure and has been told that the viable alternative is to pay for more satellite internet, despite living roughly an hour from the Sydney CBD. But it's not just individuals; it's businesses, too. In my electorate, local businesses in Brooklyn have reported serious disruption during rail shutdowns when phone and internet services fail. The consequences are immediate and they're financial: EFTPOS goes down, bookings are lost, and safety and communication systems can be compromised. These types of impacts have a direct hit on small businesses, their confidence and their viability.”
“Eric says that the signal from all major carriers is so weak that his household relies on wi-fi calling over the NBN just to make or receive calls and that usable coverage returns only when he walks to nearby streets. And there is Christine, from Berowra Waters. She recently experienced a complete loss of both mobile and fixed internet services after more than a decade of regular bill paying. Shockingly, it took intervention from my office to even get proper communication from the telco about restoration. Rebekah from Glenhaven says she has no decent phone coverage at home, even when she walks onto the street. She's not living in a remote station; she's living in town, in a city suburb. But, for her, the coverage map says one thing and the reality says another. And don't get me started on Telstra and its deceptive coverage maps.”
“It's extraordinary that in the third decade of the 21st century these places, only a short drive from the Sydney CBD, are mobile blackspots. Too many families in my electorate have ended up with the worst of both worlds: forgotten by metropolitan assumptions and overlooked by regional programs. That's why the lived experience of my electorate needs to be heard in this debate—the experiences of people like Brendan from Cattai, who runs a small business and relies on Telstra. He reports that poor and deteriorating reception has left him unable to make outgoing calls for extended periods. It's affected his business communications and even his onsite security systems. He says he's made complaints and is still paying for a service that's often unusable. Then there is Eric from Epping.”
“I want to encourage everyone in my community who's had a mobile phone issue to make a submission to the Senate committee, to put your issues and challenges on the record so we can ensure that this bill is fit for purpose. I want to take this opportunity to make a series of points. The first is that poor connectivity is not just a regional problem, not just a remote problem; it's also a peri-urban and outer-metropolitan problem. It's a Berowra problem. Too often policy in this area has fallen into a false binary: If you live in the cities, the assumption is that you're covered. If you live in the bush, at least the system admits you might need help. But if you live on the outer metropolitan areas, on the urban fringes—on the Hawkesbury, in some of our steep valleys and even in some of our wonderful suburbs—you need help, too.”
“The purpose is sound, but purpose does not equate with performance. Announcements don't create signals. Parliament shouldn't just wave through a broad framework with the critical details left for later if there's no certainty as to whether those details will make families safer, ensure that businesses can trade, and determine whether emergency calls can get through. My approach is straightforward. I support the objective of better mobile services. I support dragging telcos into a position where they meet the expectations of ordinary Australian families who do the right thing and pay their bills month in and month out. That's why this bill needs to be closely scrutinised by the Senate committee, because there are serious questions about this legislation—about whether it works in practice for communities like mine.”
“Australians have already moved on, and now the law has to catch up. In practical terms, this bill would amend the Telecommunications (Consumer Protection and Service Standards) Act to create a universal outdoor mobile obligation. It would initially require Telstra, Optus and TPG to ensure that voice and SMS are 'reasonably available outdoors to all people in Australia on an equitable basis.' The extra coverage is expected to come largely through low Earth orbit satellites and direct-to-device technology. This bill also gives the minister broad powers by legislative instrument to determine coverage areas, providers, standards, benchmarks and rules. It creates further powers to set standards and benchmarks for mobile services more generally before the new obligation begins, and the default commencement date is 1 December 2027.”
“I campaigned hard to make sure that peri-urban communities like mine were not forgotten in the national conversation, and that campaigning helped drive the creation of the Peri-Urban Mobile Program. It was a step forward, but there's much more to do. That's why this Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (Universal Outdoor Mobile Obligation) Bill 2025 matters. The current universal service settings belong to a different era. They were built for the age of the copper line, the payphone and the assumption that the mobile phone was just a useful extra. Well, that's not the world we live in now. The mobile phone is now the ordinary phone. The Parliamentary Library notes that landline use by Australian adults fell from 54 per cent in 2017 to just 15 per cent in 2024, while mobile phone use rose from 95 to 98 per cent.”
“For too many Australians, the promise of modern telecommunications has not been made good. They pay modern prices for outdated services. They live in metropolitan Sydney and still have to walk to the end of the driveway to make a call. On a good day it's infuriating; on a bad day it's dangerous. In a fire, flood or medical emergency it can be the difference between life and death. Anybody who has looked at my record in this place will know that better telecommunications for the people that I represent has been a constant focus of mine. I've fought for and achieved better signal outcomes including mobile towers in places like Dangar Island, Sackville North, Hornsby Heights, Arcadia, Annangrove, Glenorie, Glenhaven and Dural and elsewhere across my electorate.”
“Families are now reconsidering whether they can sign their kids up for soccer or whether they can afford to run their air conditioner. Australian households are now poorer than they were when Labor came to power. Small businesses are doing it tough in Berowra. They're asking whether they can afford to keep staff employed or even stay open. In the Hornsby LGA, six local businesses went into liquidation in February alone, including a plumber, a smash repairer and a dried fruit exporter. Those small businesses employed hardworking people from my community. What happened to Labor's promise to ease the cost of living, to cut power bills by $275? What does my community get? Not lower power bills, not cheaper food or child care—nothing. Australia needs a coalition government to restore our standard of living and improve our way of life.”