The federal government has failed to properly implement its mobile black spot program and help residents of Parkes with their mobile coverage, the Shadow Minister for Regional Communications has said.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Labor’s Stephen Jones said just 21 of 500 mobile towers from the first round of funding had started operating and suggested Parkes didn’t see benefits because it is a safe Nationals seat.
However Parkes MP Mark Coulton said Labor had failed to spend any money on the black spots during their six years in power and said one quarter of Parkes’ identified black spots would be addressed in round one of funding.
During a visit to Dubbo with Kate Stewart, the Labor candidate for the seat of Parkes, Mr Jones said if Labor was elected on Saturday it would match the coalition’s $260 million black spot program.
He said it wasn’t possible in a country the size of Australia to have everywhere covered by mobile reception. However their focus for tower locations would be “major highway routes and population centres, areas that are prone to natural disasters and areas that have seasonal tourism”.
He suggested the coalition hadn’t been selecting tower locations on merit.
“We have some problems with [the Coalition’s program]. There has been a fair bit of pork barreling going on. Parkes has not been a marginal seat,” he said.
“My trip along the Newell showed how bad it is and my experience is nothing compared to people who live out here.”
Ms Stewart said incumbent Nationals MP Mark Coulton has been vocal about black spots in the electorate but done nothing about it.
“Mark Coulton has said he is upset about mobile coverage in his electorate but he has had nine years to look at it and he hasn’t,” Ms Stewart said.
Mr Coulton said 207 black spots in Parkes had been identified through the program and 54 of those were being addressed in round one.
“I think it is quite remarkable that during 6 years of Labor being in Government not one cent was spent on mobile coverage and not one tower was built,” he said.
“Yet 12 months since an announcement was made, the Shadow Minister for Regional Communications, who by the way has only held this position for less than two months, has the hide to claim that the Coalition aren’t delivering this program.
“Of the 500 towers allocated for construction under round one of this program, not one would have been funded if Labor were still in government.”
Mr Coulton said telecommunications companies were going through the processes required to construct the funded towers, including acquiring land and lodging developing application proposals with local Councils.
Mr Jones said he understood the frustration of people who felt good mobile service was basic necessity.
He said it may be time the Universal Service Obligation (USO), which required all people have access to either a home or business phone, or a payphone, regardless of where they were.
Updating the USO to include broadband internet and possibly even mobile service were options Labor was considering, Mr Jones said.
“The Idea that universal service is defined by a twisted copper pair providing a phone service in the house and a phone box in every village, we have moved on from that,” he said.
“We should look at what a universal service should look like. We say broadband and I will listen to what the PC [Productivity Commission] has to say but I think we have to look at mobile as well.”