Power and mobile coverage is not a luxury: Broad

The Nationals’ Member for Northern Victoria Gaelle Broad has called on the state government to act urgently to ensure regional Victorians have reliable power and mobile coverage, warning that current failures pose serious safety risks. Ms Broad raised the issue in Parliament and shared the experience of one family in northeast Victoria who spent $2000 on a booster and aerials just to use mobile phones inside their home. “Even then, the phones only work when the power is on; if the power goes out, the phones go out too,” Ms Broad said. Ms Broad said the danger of this situation was starkly highlighted during January’s bushfire threat, when the VicEmergency app alerted the family to a nearby fire — only for the power to fail just 16 minutes later, cutting off phone service and access to emergency updates. “That is a terrifying situation for any family,” Ms Broad said. “In regional Victoria, losing power can also mean losing communications entirely." Ms Broad said unreliable single-phase power, ongoing mobile black spots, and fragile infrastructure continued to affect regional communities, with people in some places needing to carry cash because poor mobile coverage resulted in regular EFTPOS failures. She said regional Victorians deserve better. “Reliable electricity and mobile coverage are not luxuries — they are critical for safety, health, business, and staying informed in emergencies. "The government must treat them that way.”