Member for Parkes Mark Coulton's weekly catch up

Free student broadband extended

With many across the electorate already back in school or about to start school this week, now is a great time to remind families of the School Student Broadband Initiative (SSBI).

Through this initiative the Australian Government aims to bridge the digital divide and expand educational opportunities for students who do not have home internet access.

I am pleased to see SSBI has been extended, now offering free home internet to eligible families until 30 June 2028.

To qualify, participants must:

Have a child living at home that is enrolled in an Australian school;

Not have an active NBN network internet service at home or in the past 14 days (having a mobile internet service does not affect eligibility); and,

Live in a premises that can access the NBN network.

This extension is available to all eligible families, whether they are existing participants of SSBI or new to the program.

Only 30,000 places are available. To check your eligibility, call 1800 954 610 or visit: https://www.anglicarevic.org.au/student-internet/ .

For more information, visit: https://www.infrastructure.gov.au/media-communications-arts/internet/national-broadband-network/school-student-broadband-initiative-ssbi

2025 NAIDOC Grants

Applications for the 2025 NAIDOC Local Grants are now open to provide a co-contribution to the cost of activities and events being held around National NAIDOC Week (6 to 13 July 2025).

Activities and events should align with the annual National NAIDOC Week theme The Next Generation: Strength, Vision & Legacy.

More Information

Return to Parliament

Parliament returned for the first sitting fortnight of 2025 last week. It was a bittersweet week for me, marked by the reality that it was my last ‘first week’ back in Canberra.

Speculation on when the election will be called was rife within the walls of Parliament House, but it was still business as usual for me with plenty of meetings, debates and events to partake in.

It is clear that the Labor Government has realised, on the slim chance that they do win the election, they’ll have nothing to do because they have spent their entire term in government happily announcing and opening projects which were funded by the previous Coalition Government. I suggested to the House that they could maybe have a sod-filling ceremony for the section of Inland Rail that they stalled; they could also have a game of cricket on the parched cotton fields where water has been diverted to win South Australian Senate votes; or perhaps they could even try beating a road train across the Newell Highway where funding was cut for the $44 million overpass at Moree. These suggestions were unfortunately laughed off by those in Government, because they are only interested in opportunities which make themselves look good. The truth is Labor only cares about making promises and then fails to deliver.

On Wednesday I also took the opportunity to speak in the Federation Chamber on the closure of Wee Waa Hospital. The community of Wee Waa have been very angry and upset by the decision, and despite reassurances from the Independent State Member and the New South Wales Health Minister, there appears to be no action by Hunter New England Health. It's time for the leadership of Hunter New England Health to get their skates on, get in the car and come to Wee Waa to find a solution. Basic health care is something that all Australians should have access to, and I'm backing the people of Wee Waa on this.