Tuesday, 16 June 2026

 Gaelle BROAD (Northern Victoria) (21:52): (2582) My adjournment matter is for the Minister for Government Services, and the action I seek is for the minister to engage with telecommunication providers and relevant government agencies to address the significant mobile phone and internet connectivity issues affecting the Maiden Gully community. Maiden Gully is a vibrant and rapidly growing suburb on the outskirts of Bendigo. Local schools are growing rapidly, reflecting the increasing number of families choosing to call the area home. However, essential telecommunications infrastructure has failed to keep pace with growth. The Maiden Gully Progress Association recently conducted a survey after residents repeatedly identified poor telecommunications as their number one concern. They distributed the survey to local households in May this year, and the survey received over 110 detailed responses. Over 80 per cent of survey respondents reported poor coverage or no coverage in some areas. The community survey data from Maiden Gully demonstrates widespread and persistent mobile coverage failures dominated by Telstra but affecting all carriers. According to the association, a representative resident statement from the survey illustrates the severity. It says that if you are in the centre of Maiden Gully, you can rarely get service, especially during peak hours. Residents report systemic mobile coverage failures; widespread poor or no mobile coverage across residential streets, shops, schools and community facilities; frequent call dropouts and inability to make or receive calls indoors; unreliable emergency alert delivery, including late, missing or location error warnings; and a direct impact on CFA volunteer response times.

These issues raise serious concerns for the community’s safety, particularly during emergencies when reliable communication is critical, and the impacts are being felt across the community. Maiden Gully Primary School has raised concerns about its ability to reliably contact parents when required during the school day, Jenny’s Early Learning Centre has reported communication failures that compromise its duty-of-care obligations and local businesses are also suffering. Maiden Gully IGA has advised that internet outages regularly disable EFTPOS terminals, disrupting trade, frustrating customers and creating difficult situations for staff.

For a growing regional community, this situation is unacceptable. Residents, businesses, schools and childcare providers should not be forced to operate with unreliable communications infrastructure in 2026. The action I seek is for the minister to acknowledge the documented service failures affecting Maiden Gully and work with telecommunications carriers, the Commonwealth government and relevant agencies to fast-track infrastructure improvements. The community needs assurance that emergency alerts and critical communications can be received reliably when they are needed most. I thank the Maiden Gully Progress Association for raising this issue, and I ask the minister to advocate for improved telecommunications services for the residents of Maiden Gully.