Western Victoria Region
Sarah MANSFIELD (Western Victoria) (12:59): My constituents in Geelong have expressed frustration with the continued lack of mobile reception or wi-fi when travelling to and from Melbourne on the V/Line service. Commuters travel for at least 2½ hours every day to earn their living. Ideally, the commute could be spent responding to emails or on other work-related administrative tasks, but anyone who has travelled on V/Line recently will know that this is close to impossible. The Victorian Labor government promised to fix these issues back in 2015, dedicating $18 million to fixing black spots and installing wi-fi on trains, yet the busiest V/Line route in the state still lacks a consistent internet connection. My question for the Minister for Public and Active Transport is: when will Geelong residents be able to have a consistent internet connection on their V/Line commute?