Euroa electorate telecommunications
Annabelle CLEELAND (Euroa) (09:48): This week I wrote to the federal Minister for Communications raising the urgent concerns my community has about the widespread telecommunications failures happening in the region. This issue has persisted for several years and has been made worse by weather events such as floods, storms and bushfires, all of which create significant risks to public safety. Disruptions have resulted in prolonged mobile and internet blackouts and have left residents unable to make emergency calls, receive critical updates and contact family and friends. This has also impacted the ability of our emergency services to effectively operate during disaster situations. Many businesses and essential services have also been affected, with EFTPOS and ATM failures preventing access to basic necessities. Reliable telecommunications are vital to daily life and are especially crucial during natural disasters. Large areas of my electorate, particularly Redesdale, Pyalong, Euroa, Nagambie and Avenel, continue to experience inadequate Telstra coverage, which is the only provider available in so many regions.