Will Turnbull give us the simple luxury so many don’t have?

It’s a simple luxury but tens of thousands of us throughout Australia aren’t able to have it… leading to complete isolation.

Now a Federal Liberal MP is telling the Government they need to dump media ownership restrictions so that more people can have access to television.

There are blackspots throughout Australia, especially in rural communities. And although previous government have spent almost $1 billion making us switch from analog to digital, many are not reaping the benefits.

“There are tens of thousands and perhaps more Australians across regional areas who are suffering from poor TV coverage, and I think it’s time for the Government to fix it,” Federal member for Hume, Angus Taylor, told ABC Rural.

A new tower will be built in Crookwell in regional NSW, where reception is almost non-existent however more needs to be done.

“If you’re watching something like the Antique Roads Show and the fella’s explaining some technical thing about something, the sound goes and it’s very annoying,” Crookwell resident Bryan Kennedy told the ABC.

“If you weren’t on a full-time pension, then you had to pay for the installation of the VAST system. And that could work up to $650 to $900 for the black box and satellite dish,” local Ron Cummins said.

“And we didn’t think that was quite right given the Government had switched off the service and we had to pay to get free-to-air TV”.

Mr Taylor hopes the new Prime Minister’s government will want to help those people who can’t enjoy the simple luxury of watching TV. The proposal will also lift 1980s media ownership restrictions that prevent TV networks from owning newspapers and radio stations as well.

“And if the PM took it on himself, surely other small towns could get a service a lot quicker than what we’ve gone through”, Mr Cummings said.

It might sound like a big ask but the fact of the matter is that rural life can be dire for some, and a little luxury like sitting down to watch the evening news does mean a lot to these people.

Tell us, what is the reception like where you are? Does everyone have the right to good TV reception or is it a first world problem?