By JESSE GRAHAM
A MOBILE phone black spot in Steels Creek will be eliminated with the construction of a new phone base station and tower, announced by the government last week.
On Thursday, 25 June, the Federal Government announced 109 new mobile phone base stations and towers would be built across the state to address coverage black spots.
Two of these towers are set to be built in the Yarra Ranges, with one based in Dixons Creek close to Steels Creek and another in East Warburton as part of the three-year project.
In a visit to the Steels Creek Community Centre to talk about the announcement, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Communications, Paul Fletcher, said the Mobile Black Spot Program was designed for areas at risk of natural disaster.
“When we took the policy to the election, it talked about areas that are prone to natural disaster,” he said.
“Obviously, we were thinking then about the terrible experience of Black Saturday and the impact of communication networks and being able to call for help.”
Members of the Steels Creek Association gathered at the centre for Mr Fletcher’s visit with Casey MP Tony Smith.
President, Stephanie Giffard, said the announcement would “alleviate a lot of angst in the community.”
“Especially in the warmer months, it’s paramount, obviously, for well-being and safety – I think it will alleviate a lot of that concern,” she said.
Steels Creek was devastated by the Black Saturday bushfires in 2009, which killed 173 people state-wide, and the area is not currently serviced by any mobile phone network.
In his speech, Mr Fletcher noted that the council, Mr Smith and the community had all campaigned heavily for a new tower to be established.
“The importance of community advocacy really cannot be overstated in this program, and the amount of work I know you’ve done here in Steels Creek to make the case has been really, really important,” he said.
The council, with the support of Emergency Management Commissioner Craig Lapsley and Mr Smith, had applied under the program for Steels Creek and East Warburton to receive service.
When asked if bushfire risk and safety would help to determine the priority for the tower rollout, Mr Fletcher said the matter was “in the hands” of Telstra and Vodafone.
“We will be encouraging them to have regard to safety priorities as a factor,” he said.
“That being said … every location nationally will get a safety benefit from having coverage, with road accidents, farm accidents and, of course, natural disaster response.
“But, nevertheless, clearly Victoria and this area in particular had a truly terrible experience and I’m sure that we’ll certainly be making sure carriers are fully aware of that.”
Yarra Ranges Council’s Director of Social and Economic Development, Ali Wastie, said the new tower would help residents in emergencies, and also help visitors to the area by making tourism more accessible.
“We were so pleased to hear the announcement yesterday, not just from a bushfire perspective in terms of safety – although that was a key driver – but also, these regions are key tourist activity sites,” she said.
“Having mobile coverage is just essential for economic development and encouraging increased visitation, which is what we all want to see.”
The Dixons Creek tower will cover the Steels Creek area, and both towers will provide Telstra 4G mobile internet services.
The combined cost of the Dixons Creek and East Warburton towers is $1.16 million, and the State Government is funding $21 million to the $86 million Victorian leg of the project.
A map of locations for the new or upgraded base station sites across Australia can be found at nationalmap.gov.au.
