THE Surf Coast Shire will push the federal government to make mobile and data coverage more reliable at peak times, particularly during bushfires and other natural disasters.<\/p>\n
The council’s majority resolution at its meeting on Tuesday this week is just one of the motions the shire will advocate for at Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) and Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV) meetings later this year.<\/p>\n
According to the officers’ report presented to the council, the Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (Universal Outdoor Mobile Obligation) bill before federal Parliament aims to ensure a minimum level coverage across Australia but it does not take into account the impact of peak demand on local network performance.<\/p>\n
“In Surf Coast Shire, there are many examples of network coverage failing to support peak demand and of the network being vulnerable to certain weather conditions.”<\/p>\n
Poor coverage has economic impacts on businesses, officers note, but this “pales by comparison to the public risks associated with an unreliable mobile and data network”.<\/p>\n
“The Great Ocean Road is one of the most visited holiday destinations in Australia and also happens to be one of the most bushfire prone.”<\/p>\n
The report cites the flash flooding in Lorne, Cumberland River, Wye River, Separation Creek, and Kennett River in January this year as an example of what could happen.<\/p>\n
“There are many anecdotal accounts of people in the flood zone, including guests at caravan parks, not receiving official emergency warnings because the mobile network was not functioning.”<\/p>\n
Speaking at the meeting, Cr Mike Bodsworth said mobile coverage was an important issue to be raising at the ALGA.<\/p>\n
“All I want to say is that we saw in January how much you don’t want to be trying to get your phone or your VicEmergency app to reload when something’s going down, and you don’t want to be sitting there trying to be getting connectivity at a time like that.”<\/p>\n
Cr Leon Walker said a minimum standard of mobile coverage nationwide was not enough.<\/p>\n
“When we talk of adequate mobile coverage, this isn’t talking about slow internet or bad reception or fixed line NBN. We are talking about no mobile reception at all.<\/p>\n
“At certain times when the population goes from 1,000 to 20,000, there’s no mobile phone or internet at all, in particular Lorne and Aireys Inlet; both bushfire-prone zones.<\/p>\n
“I witness this every day from Boxing Day until mid January, with times of no reception at all. We had a little circle going around looking for a satellite – that’s what my phone showed – and messaging coming through hours later.”<\/p>\n
The shire resolved to move a motion at the ALGA national general assembly in June calling on the federal government to continue the National Active Transport Fund beyond 2029 and that the total fund be increased to bring Australia closer to the United Nations recommendation for investment in active transport.<\/p>\n
It will also move a motion at the MAV state council meeting in May calling on the Victorian government to increase its funding to public libraries and ensure allocations are needs based and reflective of population growth.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
THE Surf Coast Shire will push the federal government to make mobile and data coverage more reliable at peak times, particularly during bushfires and other natural disasters. The council’s majority resolution at its meeting on Tuesday this week is just one of the motions the shire will advocate for at Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) […]<\/p>\n