Ms ROWLAND (Greenway-Minister for Communications) (15:05): I thank the member for Hunter for his question.

The SPEAKER Honourable members interjecting- Order! The House will come to order.

Ms ROWLAND: I recently had the pleasure of spending time with him in his electorate to see the range of communications initiatives benefiting the Hunter community. Improving connectivity is a top priority for the Albanese government. High-quality, reliable communications services play a vital role for the economic and social inclusion of communities and especially for safety for those living and working in regional Australia as well as in our outer suburbs. That's why Labor took to the election our Better Connectivity Plan for Rural and Regional Australia. True to our commitment, our budget boosted regional telecommunications funding by 400 million to expand mobile coverage and improve the resilience of mobile networks and communications systems during natural disasters. This stream includes 39.1 million to further rounds of the Peri-Urban Mobile Program, which will deliver increased coverage and capacity in our rapidly growing outer suburban areas. Our investment will also expand the program to urban areas with a population of over 100,000. These include areas like Geelong, Wollongong, Cairns and Newcastle.

The Albanese government is committed to better connectivity for Australians because good connectivity isn't simply a nice-to-have; it is an essential service for our economy, for our quality of life and, most of all, for the safety of our citizens.