Catherine King

Catherine King

CATHERINE KING MP
Federal Member Ballarat
Shadow Minister Infrastructure, Transport & Regional Development

T (03) 5338 8123
Email: Catherine.King.MP@aph.gov.au

Catherine King MP
<strong>Electorate Office</strong><br>5 Lydiard Street North<br>Ballarat, VIC 3350<br><br><strong>Bacchus Marsh</strong><br>(every Friday from 10am to 3pm)<br>Lerderderg Library<br>Geoffrey Hine Room<br>215 Main Street<br>Bacchus Marsh, VIC 3340

Open in Google Maps
  • ABOUT
  • BALLARAT
  • MEDIA
    • LOCAL MEDIA
    • NATIONAL MEDIA
  • POLICY
  • CONTACT US
Thursday, 08 September 2016 / Published in LOCAL MEDIA, MEDIA

MAINTAIN PRESSURE TO REMOVE MOBILE BLACK SPOTS: KING

Federal Member for Ballarat, Catherine King, has urged communities to maintain pressure on the Turnbull Government to eliminate mobile black spots across the region.

Responding to a report of the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) into the Government’s handling of the mobile blackspot program, Ms King said the region should not rest until all blackspots are eliminated.

“While we have secured a number of new towers across the region, there are still many holes in the mobile coverage and this is a continuing concern,” Ms King said.

“This $220 million programme is supposed to improve public safety and expand mobile phone coverage across Australia. So far it has fallen short here as it has in many places, although we have done better than some.

The ANAO report tabled in Parliament found that:

  • The programme didn’t deliver value for money for consumers.
  • Insufficient attention was paid to local issues and community need.
  • A series of “awareness forums” conducted by the Government only benefited Coalition-held seats.

Ms King said that the report reinforced the need for local communities to maintain the pressure on the Government to deliver the outcomes the program is designed to achieve.

“The Government has made lots of noise about fixing mobile black spots. This report shows that there are vulnerable communities that are missing out.” Ms King said.

“This isn’t good enough; mobile black spots are a real problem for many communities across Australia – including those like our very own – which are vulnerable to natural disasters like bushfires.

“The ANAO report should be a wake-up call for the Government. They have neglected to properly manage a programme that has serious flaws.”

Ms King said she would continue to support all community efforts to fix mobile black spots across the Ballarat electorate.

“We will make sure that areas with high risk of natural disasters are given strong consideration, especially where human safety is at stake.

“I will continue to advocate for better coverage across our region, and I urge all our communities affected to keep up the fight to have mobile black spots removed.”

8th SEPTEMBER 2016

Tagged under: 2016

What you can read next

AUSTRALIANS WANT ACTION TO TACKLE EBOLA CRISIS
LEY MUST STAND UP FOR HEALTH FUND MEMBERS
MORRISON SHOULD GET BEHIND GENUINE HIGH-SPEED RAIL

FILTER BY TYPE:

  • MEDIA
    • LOCAL MEDIA
    • NATIONAL MEDIA

FILTER BY YEAR:

2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

© Catherine King. Authorised by Catherine King, Australian Labor Party, Canberra

Noise Birds

TOP