Reliable regional network essential in emergencies

"People have an increased reliance on mobile phones and expect the service to be available," Mr Redman said.

"With both Walpole and Margaret River mobile phone services down, there was a very real and direct impact on the emergency service response capability."

Mr Redman noted the widespread power outages experienced across many communities in the South West, some lasting many hours.

"This caused the battery back-up systems on mobile phone towers to go flat resulting in complete loss of phone services.

"With the demise of landlines and our current reliance on mobile or NBN based phones, there is a real issue when people are unable to send or receive calls or messages, especially during storms or bushfires."

Emergency Services Minister Fran Logan responded to Mr Redman in parliament, saying the impact on Margaret River was similar to that felt in other areas around the State.

Mr Logan said he was pleased to see that the federal government would be providing funding to address the issue of resilience, "particularly for mobile phone towers".

"I raised the issue with the Federal minister, Hon. David Littleproud, that [Mr Redman] and members of the Nationals WA have raised with me about the impact on mobile phone towers as a result of bushfires and other outages, particularly when it comes to batteries and battery backup," he said.

"As I have raised personally on a number of occasions with Telstra, its failure to do proper maintenance on those towers and replace those batteries when they diminish in power may be an issue.

"The good news is that funding from the appropriate body, the Federal government, which is responsible for telecommunication, will eventually be forwarded to Western Australia for building resilience in mobile phone towers."

Mr Redman said Mr Logan had "thrown off" responsibility off to the Federal Government.

"Whilst I recognise communications is a Federal responsibility, it is up to the State Government to ensure there is communication resilience for the purposes of emergency response," Mr Redman said.

"We know communities such as Margaret River and Walpole have a high fire risk during the summer months, coinciding with many thousands of visitors flocking to the popular tourist destinations.

"This is a recipe for disaster and one that is within our power to control."

Telstra Regional General Manager Boyd Brown said Telstra had a comprehensive plan for providing back-up power to the mobile network during an emergency.

Mr Brown said that when the AC mains power was shut down during an emergency, Telstra technicians provided and monitored alternative power sources to mobile sites when it was deemed safe to enter the area.

He welcomed the Federal Government's recent announcement of $37.1 million being invested in supporting mobile network resilience.

"We will await further details of how the package will assist mobile sites and support regional communities in WA," Mr Brown said.

Member for the South West Adele Farina MLC said the issue of outages during storms and other emergencies was very concerning and needed to be rectified as a matter of urgency.

"We need our telecommunications systems more than ever during emergencies to keep informed with the latest updates from authorities and to communicate with family and friends who may be in harm's way," Ms Farina said.

"A reliable telecommunications system is critical to saving lives in emergencies."

Ms Farina said she had first raised the issue back in 2016 when copper cables which ran on separate underground power lines were removed as part of the NBN rollout.

She said her concerns had fallen on deaf ears, but she was keen to raise the issue again.

"I argued at the time that the old copper networks should remain in place," she said.

"Increased reliance on mobile phones means inadequacies with mobile services also need to be addressed urgently.

"As mobile towers went down during the Waroona-Yarloop bushfire, residents were unable to receive critical bushfire warnings leaving them isolated and vulnerable, and now we have seen the same happen again to Margaret River and Walpole residents during the recent storms.

"In the case of mobile towers, back-up batteries only last 10 hours, the towers need reliable back-up generators.

"I welcome action taken by the Minister for Emergency Services Fran Logan in raising this important matter with the Federal Minister for Emergency Services David Littleproud.

"I encourage State and Federal Ministers to work together to deliver a national emergency telecommunications plan that delivers reliable telecommunications during emergencies and for funds to be made available as a matter of urgency to rectify shortcomings with our current telecommunication systems.

"Access to reliable telecommunications during natural emergencies is critical and can be life-saving."

In May the Federal government announced the $37.1 million package to strengthen telecommunications resilience in bushfire and disaster prone areas so that communities can stay connected during emergencies.

$18 million, including $10 million from the Mobile Black Spot Program, will be spent on upgrades to mobile phone base stations to keep them operating for longer during bushfires.

A further $10 million will be allocated to purchase portable communications facilities such as cells on wheels (COWs), mobile exchanges on wheels (MEOWs) and NBN Road Muster trucks, which can be positioned in bushfire affected areas to allow communications services to be restored quickly.

$7 million will fund the deployment of approximately 2,000 NBN Co satellite services across the country, to rural and country fire services and designated evacuation centres, to provide additional redundancy when fixed line connections are experiencing outages.