ALL ANNOUNCEMENTS AND  NO ACTION - MOBILE BLACKSPOT PROGRAM PLAGUED BY DELAYS

The Liberal Government’s handling of the Mobile Blackspot program has come under fire, with communities waiting up to six years for for promised mobile towers.

Member for Macquarie, Susan Templeman said the Liberals were great at making announcements, but failed at delivering on them.

 “Over the last six years, the Liberal Governments have promised a number of mobile blackspot towers in the Hawkesbury and Blue Mountains, but hasn’t delivered them.

“In the Mountains, Megalong Valley, St Albans and Yellow Rock were all promised mobile towers and have been waiting up to six years to get them running.

“In the Hawkesbury, St Albans has been waiting three years and  Grose Vale has been waiting two years.

“In February, the Government announced that it would fund mobile towers in Upper Colo and in the Macdonald Valley.

“While I welcome this funding, I have little confidence that the Morrison Government will actually be able to get this done.

“I know how important it is for our communities to have reliable mobile reception,” Ms Templeman said. “With the National Broadband Network replacing landlines, it is even more important to have this infrastructure in place.

“I live in a mobile blackspot right on the edge of the flame zone of a highly active bushfire area.

“When we lost our house in the 2013 Blue Mountains bushfires, not having mobile reception meant that it was almost impossible to talk to my son who was still inside the house as the bushfire neared. It was my worst nightmare as a parent. 

“And yet, six years on, we still don’t have any mobile reception.

“I’ve spoken in Parliament a number of times about the appalling mobile reception in our communities and how dangerous this is for us given how prone to flood and fire we are.

Ms Templeman said a Shorten Labor Government would implement a number of changes that would deliver improvements to the Hawkesbury and Blue Mountains.

Labor $245 million regional communications plan will:

• improve mobile coverage and fix more black spots by investing $160 million to deliver improved mobile coverage through two further rounds of the Mobile Black Spot Program; and

• improve consistency of back-up power arrangements for new mobile towers located in bushfire prone areas.

“Labor will work with industry and consult experts on options to improve the consistency of battery back-up arrangements for new base stati