Nathan Filmer: The Federal Opposition says the Albanese government must guarantee that regional Australians will not be left high and dry with no landline or broadband services following Telstra’s announcement it will shut down its CAN radio and ADSL networks. Earlier, I caught up with Shadow Minister for Communications and Digital Safety, Senator Sarah Henderson. How concerned are you that the CAN radio and ADSL shutdown could leave some families without any reliable landline or broadband options?
Senator Henderson: Well Nathan, we are concerned and that’s why I have called on the Albanese government to guarantee that regional Australians won’t be left high and dry with no landline or broadband services with the announcement of the shutdown of CAN radio and ADSL. Access to connectivity in regional, rural and remote Australia is a fundamental obligation of government. This is an essential service and so I am concerned that with this announcement, the government really does need to step up. We haven’t heard from the communications minister, Anika Wells. We want to know that there won’t be any impacted customers, that there will be a seamless transition because, of course, there are some 8,500 customers on CAN radio, and that’s what’s primarily is used for landlines in remote areas. And the shutdown of ADSL will affect some 50,000 Australians. So this is a large number of people affected by these transitions and it is up to the government to guarantee that no one will be impacted and of course, there will be no additional cost in moving to newer technologies.
Nathan Filmer: And we’ve seen issues in regional areas during the 3G shutdown. What specific guarantees should the federal government secure from Telstra to ensure remote customers aren’t left without service this time?
Senator Henderson: We certainly have seen a real failure of the government to oversee the appropriate shutdown of 3G and of course, that led, to some degree, to a situation where many devices could not call triple zero. We know last September we had a catastrophic outcome for several Australians who died in the Optus triple zero outage. You know, now this government is scrambling, announcing a review of triple zero, which is just ridiculous two years after it was recommended. So I just don’t think that the government has a close enough eye on the needs of regional Australians or those who live in remote communities out on stations. And the Coalition is firmly focused on the fact that every single community matters when it comes to accessing the best connectivity, and that is why the government must ensure that Telstra does nothing to jeopardise these essential services.
Nathan Filmer: For graziers, farmers and small businesses across rural and remote communities, as you say, connectivity isn’t a luxury, it’s essential. Is there a practical transition plan that you think should be in place before any disconnections occur?
Senator Henderson: Well, the disconnection is due to happen in November 2027, so some 22 months away. But we do need to see a really significant and very detailed plan. We know with a 3G shutdown, that was just a fiasco. People lost connection without any backup plan, leaving so many Australians high and dry and we just simply can’t see that happen again. What I’m concerned about also is that if, you know, say on a large station, there might be a number of landlines at various homes on a particular property. So what is Telstra doing to ensure that they will be replaced at no additional cost? I am concerned that there may be additional cost and I’ve said that that is simply not good enough. Obviously access to a landline is a fundamental obligation of the telecommunications carriers including, of course, Telstra. There does need to be power connected to the sites where there is a landline and that could also give rise to some significant challenges. But at the end of the day, when Australians have relied so consistently on ADSL, on the CAN radio network, they need to know that if these are going to be discontinued, shutdown, that they will have a service that they could rely on going forward.
Nathan Filmer: Many of our listeners are already battling rising costs. What protections should be in place to stop regional customers being slugged with home bills when they’re forced onto alternatives like Starlink or 4G, fixed wireless or the NBN?
Senator Henderson: Well I think what the government has got to ensure is that every single person is appropriately case-managed. So there may well be customers who welcome the opportunity to move to Starlink because that will provide both voice and also broadband connectivity. So that could be a very positive solution but we just can’t leave anyone out on the cold incurring additional costs because of Telstra’s decision. Yes we understand that Telstra wants to move to newer technologies. We understand the need and the imperative to operate these networks at best practice but we also understand that with that comes a fundamental obligation. Australians cannot be hit with higher costs. We are living through Labor’s cost of living crisis. The cost of everything is going up principally because the government is spending like drunken sailors. The economy is running out of control. The nation is running off a cliff because of Labor’s budget mismanagement and Australians have had enough. They can’t bear any more cost increases. That’s why we need to see this minister step up and say we will ensure that there will be no additional costs when Australians who are currently on the CAN radio and ADSL networks are required to move to newer technologies.
Nathan Filmer: Senator, thank you for your time this morning.
Senator Henderson: Great to talk to you. Thanks so much.