Wednesday, 4 February 2026

 Gaelle BROAD (Northern Victoria) (12:41): My question is to the Minister for Government Services, and I ask: what is being done to ensure regional Victorians have reliable power and mobile coverage? Sue Davey lives in Marong. The only phone service she can get is through Telstra. Sue spent $2000 on a Telstra booster and aerials just so her family could use their phones inside their home. The phones only work when the booster is on, so if they lose power, they lose phones. They have single-phase power, which often drops out. In January they had a frightening reminder of how dangerous these unreliable services are. The VicEmergency app notified them of a bushfire nearby. Just 16 minutes later the power went out, the phone failed and they could no longer monitor bushfire updates.

Mobile black spots continue across so many regional areas, yet we live in an age that relies upon being connected. Sometimes you need cash in shops in Maiden Gully because of the poor coverage. More than 100,000 properties lost power last week amid high electricity demand. Heat-related illnesses kill more Australians than any other natural disaster.

Sue’s letter states:

Surely having reliable power and mobile coverage should be essential services.

I could not agree more, and I look forward to the minister’s response.