Interview with Jason 'Wolfie' Wolfgram, STAR 106.3 FM Townsville

JASON ‘WOLFIE’ WOLFGRAM, HOST: The Albanese Government has announced successful grant outcomes to fulfil election commitments to improve mobile coverage and quality in identified locations across regional Australia. For more, I'm joined by Minister for Communications, Michelle Rowland. Morning, Michelle. Now, one of the locations that has been approved is in our area of Douglas.



MICHELLE ROWLAND, MINISTER FOR COMMUNICATIONS: That's right. I'm very pleased to announce, as part of this funding round, that a location in East Douglas has been funded and that will make a big difference, I'm sure, to that local community. I was only up in Townsville a couple of months ago, and one of the key areas of feedback that I received was how important mobile communications is in regional areas, particularly in times of emergencies. this is a great result for the East Douglas community, whom I know have needed this for a long time. It should make a demonstrable difference in improving coverage, and I'm really pleased that we're going to be working with Telstra, but also in identifying locations with the local community, to make sure we get the best outcomes here.



WOLFIE: So, what's the timeline for this now to progress, Michelle? How long are we looking at before things will improve?



ROWLAND: Some things depend on whether suitable sites can be identified and also how long it might take for construction. But the lead time for some of these projects can take anywhere from under a year to a little bit more. But it always works quicker when we've got the community working together, including local councils. We've managed to get this co-investment with Telstra. They'll go through their processes of now executing that agreement. We want to do that as expeditiously as possible. I'm very hopeful that we'll be able to identify a site and be able to get the necessary approvals through, because people have waited a long time, and they're still waiting a long time. I recognise in many parts of regional Australia, mobile black spots need to be addressed. This is a key priority of this Government. So, I look forward to the community working with Telstra and working with my Department to bring this to fruition as soon as possible.



WOLFIE: Now, this comes under the Improving Mobile Coverage Round and it's all Commonwealth funding. So, how does a location end up coming up under this kind of funding? How many rounds come out every year? Is it an ongoing thing?



ROWLAND: It is ongoing at the moment through the Federal Budget. We identified these specific locations in the Improving Mobile Coverage Round prior to the election. So, these were actually election commitments, but we've also got currently another round of mobile black spot funding which has called for expressions of interest. We've got a number of other packages within our Better Connectivity Plan around regional connectivity as well. And all those are designed to improve communication services in rural, regional and remote Australia.



We have opened the Mobile Network Hardening Program, and that's really important for base stations which might be susceptible in times of natural disasters, keeping them on the air for longer. They are currently open. Anyone who's interested can go to the community notice board on the Department's website. But I want to assure your listeners we have an ongoing funding package, $1.1 billion through the Better Connectivity Plan, which we are really keen to see rolled out, because what the community rightly expects is delivery. And that's precisely what we are seeking to do.



WOLFIE: And can I ask, is there any other locations within our area that are being looked at, at the moment?



ROWLAND: Well, this depends on whether or not they are nominated. This is from the round that's already happened. The East Douglas location comes from this round, but the Department is currently assessing all applications that have been received under the latest Mobile Black Spots and Regional Connectivity Programs. They are done independently by the Department and there's a competitive tender process for carriers.



But again, I want to thank all members of the community and local government. I have engaged very closely with local governments across regional Queensland over the past twelve months in particular, and all of them have stressed to me the importance of connectivity. I'm very hopeful that that has seen a strong engagement with the local community, that the Department will make those assessments, and that I'll have more to announce in the near future to your good listeners.



WOLFIE: And I know that in the northern suburbs of Townsville as well, there's a number of locations with black spots and hopefully in the future that these areas can be looked at as well. But this is great news about a communications tower improving the area of East Douglas. Michelle Rowland, Minister for Communications, thanks for your time this morning on Star Breakfast.



ROWLAND: My pleasure. Have a great day!



WOLFIE: You too. Thanks for that.