Hansard debates

Ms SHEED (Shepparton) (11:50:20) — (13 932) My constituency question is for the Minister for Innovation and the Digital Economy in the other place. Minister, can you please advise what action is being taken to appropriately assess and address the significant lack of mobile phone reception in the Shepparton electorate and to ensure my constituents receive the service they deserve? I note the Victorian government has recently taken steps to pursue their own mobile blackspot program, separate from the federal government's existing scheme. Katunga is a town in my electorate that was already identified as a priority area, and indeed many constituents in that area have voiced their concern about lack of coverage for years. Katandra West is in a similar situation. In 2018 mobile phone reception should not be a luxury. I and many of my constituents hold grave concerns about what the poor coverage could mean in an emergency when vital safety information cannot be relayed to communities, and I look forward to seeing what the government will be doing about this.