TWO YEARS LATER – GUNNS PLAINS STILL WAITING FOR MOBILE PHONE FIX

Two years after being promised a solution to mobile phone black spot issues in Gunns Plains, the local community is still waiting for the Liberals to deliver.

Shadow Minister for Regional Communications, Stephen Jones, and Labor Candidate for Braddon, Justine Keay, today met with Gunns Plains residents to discuss Malcolm Turnbull’s failure to deliver a promised mobile phone tower.

Labor Candidate for Braddon, Justine Keay said: “Two years ago the Gunns Plains community was promised a mobile phone base station to give the community reliable mobile phone coverage.

“The best Malcolm Turnbull can now offer is that ‘construction is expected to start by the end of this year’.”

“It looks like the community will be waiting for at least three years after Malcolm Turnbull made his commitment just to get decent mobile phone coverage.

“It is blindingly obvious that regional Tasmanians need this coverage to manage their businesses and personal lives.

“People living in our regions are sick of being treated as second class citizens by Malcolm Turnbull’s complete lack of action to fix our poor mobile reception.

“Hopefully Malcolm Turnbull’s first-hand experience this week with dodgy phone reception is the clear message he needs.”

Shadow Minister for Regional Communications Stephen Jones said: “The Coalition’s Mobile Black Spot Program has been plagued with problems, including flawed program design, allegations of ignoring community priorities and long delays in delivery.

“The Liberals now appear to have abandoned the Mobile Black Spot Program and any attempts to address the growing digital divide between urban and regional communities, with no new money in the Budget for mobile black spots.”

Federal Labor believes there is a better way to deliver better mobile phone coverage for our regions than this failed program.