When mobile phone towers and internet systems don’t have sufficient backup power, entire towns can become cut off. This is especially dangerous during emergencies like fires or floods if people can’t contact emergency services and each other. 

It’s an issue I hear about consistently from CFA and SES volunteers and communities as I travel across Indi’s rural towns.  

Poor telecommunications are a barrier to prosperity and create significant challenges for our communities in times of emergency. We must increase resilience now, before the next fire or flood arrives, not after. 

My plan will ensure that Telstra and Optus are required to install at least 24 hours of power backup at all towers servicing high bushfire risk areas. By requiring all towers in remote areas to have at least 24 hours backup, we will increase our resilience and keep businesses and communities online – even when the power goes out. 

I will also fight for a Regional Telecommunications Infrastructure Fund. By giving local community groups, emergency service organisations and local governments the opportunity to invest in local telecommunications solutions like satellite internet with battery backup, regional communities will be more resilient and prepared when the next fire, flood or storm arrives. 

In regional communities we drive everywhere. Our roads have been battered by severe weather events resulting in dangerous potholes and lane closures. These roads are disintegrating before our eyes and need to be prioritised. 

More than 75% of Australia’s road network is owned or maintained by local governments, but with small ratepayer bases, inflation increasing the cost of repairs and materials, scarcity of the necessary workforce and minimal funding opportunities for state and Commonwealth Government support, regional councils are struggling to fund the ongoing roadworks needed to keep our communities safe and connected. 

Flooding events in recent years have left Indi’s roads potholed and washed away. In some places, temporary bridges and closed lanes have been in place for almost a year following such damage. This is a problem for all regional Australians. They drive on these roads every day to get to school, to work, to look after their mum and dad, and to take their kids to sport on the weekends. 

While existing funding programs are focused on major upgrades of roads, bridges or other road infrastructure, there are no Federal programs dedicated on the day-to-day minor repair of road infrastructure as it deteriorates due to wear and tear or severe weather events. The nine local governments in Indi consistently tell me that current funding arrangements for roads, including Commonwealth funding arrangements, are inadequate. Too frequently they only just cover damage caused by natural disasters, with no capacity to build back better. 

I’m calling on the Government to fix our potholes by rebooting a crucial program providing untied grants to local councils.  The Local Roads and Community Infrastructure Program would provide $500 million each year to local government across Australia. This would give councils in Indi a desperately needed $36 million to get our roads in better shape. 

It would complement existing programs such as the Roads to Recovery Program and the Blackspot Program by increasing funding available to local governments to make minor repairs to roads where potholes and other road degradation has occurred.