Curraweela residents are calling for urgent action on telecommunications in the area, following a recent fire.
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Property owner, Frank Startari said the poor mobile communication proved critical when the blaze started on Craigs Road, some 15km north of Taralga on Thursday, March 16.
"When the fire came over the hill, we panicked," he said.
"We did not get evacuation messages, nor did we get told which way to head for safety. We were left to fend for ourselves. Family members were trying to locate each other."
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One man tried "desperately" to reach his wife, who was in the fire's path, to tell her to evacuate. He crashed on the way, had to abandon his vehicle, arrived home to find his wife had left and then evacuated himself on a quad bike.
Mr Startari described it as "chaos." People were relying on each other or landlines to advise of the blaze's direction. Those who chose to stay and defend had no mobile signal.
"People are very angry because they didn't know where to go or what preparations to make," he said.
"The winds were gale force, we saw plumes of smoke and knew it was headed this way."
He moved stock, grabbed the dog and several items and evacuated north, to the Abercrombie Ridge. There he stopped motorists and advised them of the fire because there were no road closures in place and no one had received an emergency alert in the mobile blackspot area.
Mr Startari returned later to find his hayshed, timber cattle yard and 4.2km of fencing destroyed. Fortunately, his house was saved but he's since sold off sheep and cattle due to lack of feed. He's quick to stress he's one of the luckier ones and the issue is not about him.
Almost three weeks on and with 4437 hectares burnt, Mr Startari said people were furious.
![The Curraweela fire rushed towards a pine plantation, fuelled by strong winds on March 16. Picture by Peter Horch. The Curraweela fire rushed towards a pine plantation, fuelled by strong winds on March 16. Picture by Peter Horch.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/FkT3ZusFw5YrTvZCipmLUF/be48ba9e-e286-4f0e-ba51-29c26ac182a9.jpg/r0_0_1920_1045_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
The community has been lobbying telecommunications companies for handheld mobile phone signal since 2007. Despite support from Hume MP Angus Taylor, state members, the RFS and Upper Lachlan Shire Council in three ultimately unsuccessful mobile blackspot funding rounds, he said the coverage hadn't changed.
What little coverage existed had been affected by Telstra's introduction of 5G in Crookwell, Mr Startari claimed.
"We are at a stalemate," he told The Post.
"While we meet all the criteria, such as being situated on a main road, prone to natural disasters and having a small community, it all falls on deaf ears unless Telstra also puts in a (backing) submission. They are privately owned and only look at shareholder profit so the mobile blackspot program is not delivering what it's designed to do."
The program is co-funded by the federal government and telecommunications providers.
Telstra regional manager Chris Taylor confirmed the telco had not applied for blackspot funding for Curraweela but said it was not solely the company's responsibility.
"Mobile coverage can be impacted by a variety of factors," he said.
"These include the type of device being used, the distance from a tower, terrain (hills and valleys), tall trees or built infrastructure. In this region the hilly terrain poses many challenges to providing continuous mobile coverage."
![A total 4437 hectares were burnt in the Curraweela fire which broke out on March 16. The cause remains under investigation. Picture by Peter Horch. A total 4437 hectares were burnt in the Curraweela fire which broke out on March 16. The cause remains under investigation. Picture by Peter Horch.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/FkT3ZusFw5YrTvZCipmLUF/93ba96ba-2243-48ac-b947-61c7a9a91568.jpeg/r3_0_1280_375_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Nevertheless, he acknowledged mobile coverage was "limited or poor" near Curraweela. People could increase coverage by purchasing an external mobile phone booster and aerial as well as using wifi calling at home.
'The case stacks up'
Mr Startari says with 20km of 'no reception' between Richlands and the Abercrombie, 300 permanent residents, 1574 vehicles travelling the road daily (based on a council road count) and frequent accidents, the area more than qualifies for blackspot funding.
He cited several nearby crashes where residents first on scene had to leave injured people, return home and contact emergency services because there was no mobile reception. In February, 2021 he said he assisted a motorcyclist trapped under a barbed wire fence down an embankment.
"I had to leave him at the scene and rush to the nearest neighbour 2km away and use her landline," he said.
As a result, he was not able to check vital signs paramedics requested because he wasn't at the scene.
In addition, motorists are often trapped at the Curraweela causeway, which frequently flooded.
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Mr Startari said he was at a loss to understand why mobile blackspot funding was extended for Golspie and Paling Yards towers, which he claimed had fewer residents.
He also pointed to 10km of "unused" fibre optic installed 20 years ago to enable ADSL, which "never arrived." Mr Startari argued the optic fibre gave flexibility to locate a tower in a "more optimum location," but had not been done.
![Road crashes like this one several years ago occur on a regular basis, says Frank Startari, justifying the case for improved mobile coverage. Picture by Frank Startari. Road crashes like this one several years ago occur on a regular basis, says Frank Startari, justifying the case for improved mobile coverage. Picture by Frank Startari.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/FkT3ZusFw5YrTvZCipmLUF/9e7cfd74-f0c3-4c42-bd81-0dc09b8d9c7c.jpg/r68_23_1280_745_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Exacerbating matters, landlines were out for more than two weeks after the fire.
The communication issue flared at a Taralga community meeting on Tuesday to discuss the bushfire recovery. Council mayor Pam Kensit replied the council would continue to lobby Telstra. Residents have also written to government departments, MPs and Telstra.
Acting council general manager Alex Waldron said the organisation recently met with Telstra representatives to discuss "ongoing outages and blackspots and to gain a firm commitment for resolution."
"Telstra representatives also gave a presentation at the last council meeting and committed to improving connectivity in the Upper Lachlan," she said.
Mr Sartari welcomes the efforts but says people "don't want any more excuses."
"We know a tower is viable in our area. Why is Curraweela a lesser priority? It is a matter of people's safety," he said.
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