AT JUST 12 years old, one local girl has played a part in discussions in federal parliament, after she spoke to Minister for Communications Malcolm Turnbull.
On a school camp in Canberra, Grade 5 and 6 students from Son Centre Christian College had a taste of federal politics on a tour of Parliament House.
Speaking to Member for Mallee Andrew Broad about communications problems at their school — located on the outskirts of Swan Hill — Grade 6 student Wendy Tshuma had the opportunity to take her concerns directly to the decision-maker.
“We have been talking at school about the slow internet and that Telstra don’t want to fix it, so I told [Mr Broad] and he called Malcolm Turnbull,” Ms Tshuma said.
“I told him our problem and he shook my hand and said he would fix it as soon as he could.”
An independent report analysing the cost-benefit of providing communications to rural and regional Australia was recently released.
It outlined the cost of delivering wireless and satellite services to be $5 billion, with economic benefits of just $600 million — a 12 per cent return.
When asked about the report in Question Time, Mr Turnbull mentioned the discussion he had with Ms Tshuma.
“We have been talking at school about the slow internet and that Telstra don’t want to fix it, so I told [Mr Broad] and he called Malcolm Turnbull. I told him our problem and he shook my hand and said he would fix it as soon as he could…”
“If investment in infrastructure in rural and regional Australia was only dictated by economic cost then the bitumen would stop at the end of the cities, the post office would not deliver,” he said.
“It is vital that we provide those services [so] young Wendy Tshuma has as good an internet connection in Swan Hill as her cousins in Melbourne or Sydney.”
Son Centre Christian College principal Rachel Richardson said despite the schools efforts, Telstra did not have any plans to extend the line.
“[The connection] is not great — our biggest problem is that Telstra don’t have a line out to us — we rely on 4G which is also a more expensive option,” Ms Richardson said.
“But it is not just our school, I think there are also schools in town that have this issue.”
With new technologies like tablet computers and laptops becoming common in education and a move to take NAPLAN testing online, she said the coverage was “not sufficient” to pursue these options.
“The curriculum is so technology heavy, but reliant on the internet,” she said.
“We have got the hardware, but if the internet is not quick enough then that is of little value.”
Ms Tshuma has dreams of working in politics, inspired by Australia’s first female Governor-General Quentin Bryce.
She has had the opportunity to study government and politics at school, and is keen put that into practice in the future.
“Apparently I’d be good at that because I talk a lot,” she said.
