Interview with Murray Jones on 4CA AM Cairns

MURRAY JONES, HOST: Good morning. It’s 846 4CA, real music just like that one. We love ABBA. And real opinions. Let’s talk about opinions when it comes to, well, of course, the old Coalition and Labor federally. Interesting to read just something that came up on the internet yesterday talking about the sordid saga of round  of Labor’s dodgy mobile black spot program has taken another turn, according to the Liberal Party with the Government announcing today that almost a quarter of the 54 projects will not proceed under round 6.

Communications Minister Michelle Rowland has handpicked every one of the sites, with 74 being in Labor electorates. But it seems like there’s some good news for our region, and it is, of course, a Liberal electorate. This morning – I’ve thrown her in the fire this morning, Michelle Rowland, the Federal Communications Minister, good morning. Nice to have you on the program.

MICHELLE ROWLAND, MINISTER FOR COMMUNICATIONS: Good morning, Murray.

JONES: Nice to have you along. What’s your response? Because I know that’s the focus of what we’re talking about this morning – a successful campaign to actually get some better services, particularly for the Kuranda area.

ROWLAND: Well, Murray, as all your listeners know, mobile connectivity is absolutely essential in this day and age, and it’s particularly the case in rural and regional Australia. That’s why we took to the election some commitments to improve coverage at designated locations right around Australia. I’m really pleased that I was able to announce last week that, following an independent assessment by my Department, and me, as Minister having accepted all of their recommendations, we are going to have 42 areas around Australia that are going to receive coverage improvements from 41 new mobile base stations under this mobile black spots round.

And the good news for your listeners is that one of those locations is in Kuranda. That will see Telstra building a new base station subject to local planning approvals. But ultimately, this is about consumers, about locals and their small businesses being able to access mobile services to a greater extent in that area, which is great news!

JONES: When it comes to the NBN, Kurrowah, which is an area just near Kuranda, is looking to be quite an upgrade there. One of the concerns with some of the modern technologies is when the power goes out often the phones go out and, of course, the internet service goes out, and often the mobile service as well. And particularly as we’re heading into cyclone season, this is one of those ongoing issues and ongoing concerns, particularly for older people with some health concerns that actually rely on that communication. So, these upgrades are certainly likely to assist in those areas as well.

ROWLAND: You’re absolutely right. We take very seriously the warnings that our disaster agencies have been giving to us for some time. I’m very pleased working with Minister Murray Watt from the great state of Queensland. We’ve been progressing, over the last year, some really important steps forward in disaster management. They include a new Mobile Network Hardening Program that’s currently open for applications. We know that in disasters, unfortunately, it is the case that sometimes the nature of that disaster can end up taking out power and infrastructure. But there are technologies available to make them last a bit longer, either through enhanced generators or solar-powered batteries - and that can be the difference between life and death. We have that open at the moment for applications. And if any of your listeners are interested, I encourage them to go to the Department of Communications’ website and have a look at the noticeboard there.

We have also funded, in the last Budget, a new Cell Broadcast Technology System. What this means is that during natural disasters if, for example, a whole area, a geographic area, needs to be evacuated, rather than using SMS which is often unreliable, a broadcast technology will be sent out to every device that’s in  location, warning them that they either need to evacuate or go somewhere safer.

And we’re also advancing what’s called Public Safety Mobile Broadband. This has, Murray, come out of a number of inquiries, including Royal Commissions into natural disasters, that said we need to have our emergency management agencies seamlessly able to talk to one another. It sounds pretty obvious, but it certainly was a major impediment during the Black Summer bushfires. We’re advancing that as well, working with the States and Territories.

And, lastly, emergency roaming. It doesn’t matter what network you’re on, in an emergency you should be able to use whatever mobile service you’re on, and be able to have coverage if there’s a tower in the area. I’m very pleased in the last few days the industry has come together and is working with the Federal Government. We’re going to advance this because this is about saving lives, saving property, and making sure that people can stay connected during disasters.

JONES: Certainly with the bushfires that are happening a little bit further south too, these type of technologies can be essential for saving lives. You know, for our part of the world, it’s the concerns after a disaster or even during the face of a disaster. That’s when the emergency services are really required. But certainly with the bushfires, some of these new technologies really is about saving lives.

ROWLAND: You’re right. The key thing here is that these need to be advanced now, which is exactly what we are doing. Bringing industry with us, but also having committed to them in our Budget. I think that anyone who is interested in ensuring that we have these technologies on the air for longer will appreciate that. Governments and industry can do what we can in the face of the different types of disasters, but sometimes they are so severe there is not much that can be done. But I tell you what, a lot of those inquiries showed that things can be done now; they can keep not only mobile, but also radio stations like yourself, on the air for longer.

JONES: Yeah, yeah.

ROWLAND: We’re investing in enhancing that broadcast infrastructure as well. It is unfortunate when the power goes down, a lot of this infrastructure goes down with it. But again, by hitting this milestone, we’ve now got half a million Queensland households and businesses -and nearly half of those outside of greater Brisbane - who are now able to access full-fibre [NBN[. Again, during an emergency, it’s fibre that is much more stable, that is much more resilient against disasters, when it comes to broadband and the NBN. So we’re making these investments where it counts. Ultimately it’s about keeping people safe.

JONES: Look, a really interesting story, particularly as we’re looking down the barrel of cyclone season. We’ve been pretty safe for a couple of years, but unfortunately things may change. You never know what’s just around the corner. Great to talk to you, and certainly some good news with respect to what’s happening particularly in the Kuranda area as well. Minister Michelle Rowland, the Communications Minister, been a wonderful chat this morning. Thank you so much for your time. Cheers.

ROWLAND: My pleasure. Thank you.