Moorabool mayor Paul Tatchell is highlighting bushfire danger as he steps up the council’s fight to get better mobile phone coverage for Blackwood.
“We might as well have tin cans and a piece of string for all the good a mobile phone does up here,” he said.
Cr Tatchell said he was concerned by the danger facing residents with poor phone coverage, especially in emergencies such as bushfire. “We have a new fire refuge in town, fully equipped and state-of-the-art, but if Blackwood residents and visitors can’t receive a warning on their mobile phone of fire danger and can’t contact lost ones in an emergency, we’re not doing all we can to ensure people’s safety,” he said.
“In a beautiful town that attracts many tourists, as well as a permanent population of about 300, this is simply not good enough and I implore the federal and state governments to take this opportunity to fix this problem.”
The owner of The Blackwood Merchant cafe, Jen Moore, agreed it was vital for Blackwood to be among the towns to receive funding from the $40 million state government regional connectivity program and the $100 million federal government mobile coverage program.
“From a business point of view we can’t get reliable mobile reception in the cafe, which is frustrating for us and for customers,” Mrs Moore said. “But
in an emergency there’s a bigger problem of how dangerous a lack of coverage is.”
Earlier this year, Cr Tatchell encouraged Moorabool residents to make a submission to the mobile coverage program.
Blackwood residents will find out in August if the town is listed in the program’s tender process.
