‘I’ve seen the bush when it was on fire’: Gladys Berejiklian fires warning over rivals’ plans for the regions

“I’ve seen the bush when it was on fire”, says former Premier and current Optus managing director Gladys Berejiklian as she takes aim at rivals telcos’ network sharing deal

The deal between telecommunications giants TPG and Telstra would spell disaster for the bush, as debate over the proposal heats up ahead of a decision on whether to green light the proposal approaches.

Talking to The Daily Telegraph, former Premier Gladys Berejiklian – now in a senior managing director role at Optus after resigning from parliament last year – took aim at the proposed network sharing deal, which will result in TPG decommissioning around 725 mobile sites around the country, while Telstra will provide them access with some of its 4G and 5G network in the bush.

Ms Berejiklian said that at a time when natural disasters continued to hit regional NSW, the deal would lead to less competition and investment in the bush.

“I’ve seen the bush when it was on fire, I’ve seen our regional communities when they’re underwater – communication is key,” she told The Telegraph.

The proposal is currently in front of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, who are due to make a decision in coming months on whether it’ll proceed.

Former NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian at Optus in Macquarie Park ahead of the upcoming Bush Summit. Picture: Jonathan Ng

Ms Berejiklian said the move would effectively reduce the number of service providers in the bush.

“I’ve seen first-hand when natural disaster hits, communities need resilience, we need back up, and they need to know telecommunications won’t let them down,” she said.

Outgoing Telstra CEO Andy Penn. Picture: Supplied.

“If communities only have one option and it goes down, they’ll be left in the lurch and I don’t want to see that happen anywhere in Australia … we want to increase competition, increase investment … they may not necessarily choose us, but the point is to give people the option.”

It came as Federal Nationals leader David Littleproud, a staunch opponent of the move, accused outgoing Telstra CEO Andy Penn was “trying to sell us a pup on his way out”.

“He’s nothing but a salesman, he has abandoned the bush over the years,” he said.

“This guy has destroyed telecommunications in regional Australia.”

In an update to shareholders late last week, outgoing Mr Penn took aim at the criticism levelled at the proposal, saying it would be “a great outcome for regional Australia” and said claims it was a merger were “mischievous”.

“I think if Optus spent a bit more time focusing on their own customers and business, they wouldn’t be so far behind us on so many fronts … So to be honest, I’m not sure what Optus are bleating about. But there you go.

Bogan Gate farmer Anthony McIntyre says phone coverage was crucial several years ago when a worker on his farm was seriously injured in a workplace accident. Picture: Supplied

“There’s lots of network sharing deals around the world. It’s a common feature of telecommunications …, it’s good for regional customers.”

James Rickards, TPG Telecom General Manager External Affairs, said it was an “infrastructure sharing agreement that will bring choice and competition to regional Australia like never before”.

Bogan Gate, sheep, cattle and cropping farmer Anthony McIntyre said broad phone coverage in the bush was crucial, pointing to a workplace accident on his property where a farmhand was badly hurt.

“A few years ago I had a worker sustain a pretty severe head injury on farm, we were able to communicate with emergency services thanks to improved phone networks in our area and get vital help,” he said.

Originally published as ‘I’ve seen the bush when it was on fire’: Gladys Berejiklian fires warning over rivals’ plans for the regions