The Nationals’ Member for Euroa, Annabelle Cleeland, has written to the Federal Minister for Communications demanding urgent upgrades to telecommunications infrastructure across the region, following repeated service blackouts during recent weather events.
Severe storms and flooding have left entire communities without mobile or internet access — often for days — cutting off residents from emergency updates, vital services, and their loved ones.
Ms Cleeland said the chronic lack of reliable coverage is putting lives at risk and crippling local businesses already doing it tough.
“This is not just a minor inconvenience — it’s a safety risk and an economic handbrake,” Ms Cleeland said.
“When storms hit, phones go dead. When floods roll in, residents can’t access emergency alerts. And when fires threaten, people are completely in the dark.”
“Communities like Redesdale, Pyalong, Euroa, and Nagambie — where Telstra is often the only option — are still experiencing black spots, long outages, and no communication backup when it’s needed most.”
Ms Cleeland said she has recently raised the issue in the Victorian Parliament to highlight its urgency and the need for immediate action.
“I’ve taken this directly to Parliament to make it clear that this is an unacceptable failure of basic infrastructure. Our communities cannot be left vulnerable and disconnected any longer,” she said.
The impact on local businesses has been particularly severe, with many unable to operate during outages due to Eftpos and ATM failures.
“Small businesses are the backbone of our communities, and they’ve made it clear — they need support now more than ever,” Ms Cleeland said.
“When telco outages strike, cafes, shops, and stallholders at farmers markets are left unable to process payments, especially those relying on Stripe readers and other mobile Eftpos systems that need strong reception to function.”
“This is impacting livelihoods. When you can’t make a sale, you can’t survive — especially when margins are already tight.”
In response, Ms Cleeland has called on the Federal Government and major telcos to urgently:
• Ensure all mobile towers are fitted with reliable backup power sources
• Prioritise regional areas for improved redundancy to avoid widespread service failures
• Strengthen emergency response protocols between telcos and disaster response services
• Address known black spot areas across the region with long-overdue investment
“Our region’s prosperity depends on reliable phone and internet services — not just during disasters, but every single day,” Ms Cleeland said.
“If the Federal Labor Government is serious about regional resilience and recovery, ensuring consistent telecommunications access must be at the top of the list.”
