Mrs ELLIOT (9:41 AM) —I rise today to urge the government to stop the sell-off of Telstra and to not sell out so many Australians. The Prime Minister is really starting to enjoy his unlimited power in parliament. The gap between what he wants and the needs of the people who elected him has grown into a chasm. The Prime Minister has become so out of touch with the needs of Australians that he arrogantly chooses to ignore 70 per cent of us—because 70 per cent is the overwhelming, undisputable, unheard proportion of people in this country who are opposed to the sale of Telstra, as shown by Newspoll.

Unlike coalition members of parliament, I am listening to my constituents, and what they are telling me over and over is that they are already worried about Telstra’s lagging services. They are already frustrated that they cannot get access to broadband or get decent mobile coverage. They are already feeling the weight of crippling line rental costs. This appalling service is happening in the heart of Tweed Heads, just minutes from the Gold Coast—hardly an infrastructure backwater.

Take the example of Mark Albrecht, a local IT businessman from South Tweed Heads: he and his neighbours have been battling with Telstra for six long months to get access to broadband, despite being told the service was already available. Locals like Mark know that the solution to Telstra’s service problems is not a Telstra fire sale. They know that full privatisation means a full shift in focus from people to profits.

The National Party have forgotten where they come from and whom they represent. Their spectacular backdown on the sale of Telstra is a betrayal of the bush and regional Australia. The National Party will not be forgiven for selling out regional and rural Australia. The $3 billion fund will not improve the waiting time for services in outer metropolitan and regional areas. There is no guarantee it will get services up to scratch in the bush. People in my electorate know that and they are telling me that every day. There is no guarantee we will not see a repeat of the last Telstra sell off, with huge sums of money wasted on badly run projects that have no lasting value to the nation.

We need to keep Telstra in public hands because all Australians deserve access to affordable, quality telecommunications. I am listening to the concerns of my constituents. They want me to speak for them in this House. What they are asking me to say, loud and clear, is: ‘Hands off; Telstra is not for sale.’ I am urging all coalition MPs and senators—especially my southern neighbour, the member for Page—to start listening to their constituents and vote against John Howard’s arrogant plans to sell us out. The people of regional Australia deserve better. They do not want Telstra sold. They are saying that clearly and loudly.