Joint media release
Shadow Minister for Communications and Digital Safety, Senator the Hon Sarah Henderson
Shadow Minister for Regional Communications, Dr Anne Webster MP
The Albanese Labor Government is once again leaving regional Australians in the dark, with funding for the highly successful Regional Tech Hub due to expire at the end of this financial year and still no word on whether it will be extended.
The Regional Tech Hub, a proud Coalition initiative, plays a vital role in supporting people living in regional, rural and remote Australia with phone and internet services.
Shadow Minister for Communications and Digital Safety, Sarah Henderson and Shadow Minister for Regional Communications, Anne Webster, are calling on Labor to come clean on its plans for this vital service and provide the certainty which people in the bush deserve.
“The Regional Tech Hub provides essential, independent support for people navigating complex and often unreliable telecommunications services in regional Australia,” Senator Henderson said.
“Anyone who lives in the regions knows that getting reliable phone and internet access in the regions is still far more difficult and complex than it should be.”
“Regional Australians are dealing with patchy coverage, mobile black spots, power outages and the chaos of network changes like the 3G shutdown. The Regional Tech Hub cuts through the bureaucracy and provides trusted, independent advice.
With Labor axing the Mobile Black Spot Program and slashing and burning other regional connectivity programs, funding uncertainty for the Regional Tech Hub is untenable,” Senator Henderson said.
Dr Webster said the funding uncertainty comes at the worst possible time, with major telecommunications changes underway including Telstra’s retirement of CAN Radio and legacy ADSL infrastructure, uncertainty over the universal outdoor mobile obligation and the continuing fallout from Labor’s botched shutdown of the 3G network.
“Rolling out big policy changes without properly supporting people to understand and use them is a recipe for failure,” Dr Webster said.
“The Regional Tech Hub is the bridge between high-level announcements and real‑world outcomes. Without it, people will be left behind.”
Dr Webster said regional Australians deserve certainty when it comes to essential services.
“Regional Australians are sick of being treated as second class citizens,” Dr Webster said.
“Cutting support for a service which helps people stay connected is cutting in exactly the wrong place. Regional Australians deserve certainty – not silence.”
“The Regional Tech Hub helps around 75 regional Australians every single day to stay connected – whether that’s running a business, accessing telehealth, studying online, or simply being able to call Triple Zero in an emergency.”
“Yet Labor is sitting on its hands while funding runs out on 30 June. No certainty. No reassurance. No plan. That is simply not good enough,” Dr Webster said.
Background
The Regional Tech Hub has been fully funded by the Federal Government since 2020 and is delivered by the National Farmers’ Federation. The most recent funding commitment – around $6 million over three years – expires at the end of this financial year.
In the past year alone, more than 28,000 people received direct help from the Hub, with over 327,000 people using its website, and almost 8,000 people calling its helpdesk.