Push for fairer phone deal

By Alison Noonan
THE fight to rid Cranbourne of STD call rates is far from over, according to Flinders MP Greg Hunt.
Mr Hunt said he still held high hopes that Cranbourne would be included within the Melbourne metropolitan zone for telephone call charges following a recent meeting with Communications Minister Helen Coonan.
He said it was extremely unfair that while more than 90 per cent of homes in Cranbourne and Cranbourne South were within the existing 50-kilometre radius from the Melbourne GPO they were not charged metropolitan rates.
“The situation facing Cranbourne residents is an anomaly,” he said.
“Cranbourne would be included in the Melbourne untimed local zone if the perimeter continued in a symmetric circle instead of dog-legging and cutting Cranbourne out of the zone.
“It’s as if a giant wedge has been taken out of the pie. That wedge is Cranbourne.”
Mr Hunt said this may have been reasonable when Cranbourne was a small rural town but that was no longer the case.
“Cranbourne is no longer considered a country area,” he said.
“It has become a large town that, over the last three decades, has become linked to and utterly absorbed into the broader City of Melbourne precinct.
“Its residents deserve a much better deal,” he said.
Mr Hunt said the fact that Ms Coonan had agreed to write to Telstra requesting the telecommunications giant change its current policy was a major step forward for Cranbourne residents.
“The key was to get Ms Coonan to support the change and she has now written expressly to Telstra on Cranbourne,” he said.
“This is the only specific exchange zone in Australia on which she has written and this certainly magnifies our case.
“I make no false guarantees as to the outcome but support from the Minister direct to the CEO of Telstra is the best hope we have for the residents of Cranbourne and Cranbourne South in getting their area included in the Melbourne metropolitan zone,” he said.
Mr Hunt said Telstra had responded in the interim advising that a special taskforce had been established to investigate outer metropolitan calling regimes.
“I think that this, on the Telstra side, is an important response,” he said.
“This taskforce will work towards providing a new structure that would enable them to consider their strategy for pricing and packaging of services.
“We expect to hear the outcome of the taskforce’s determinations early in the New Year,” he said.
Casey mayor Kevin Bradford said he appreciated any Federal Government support in the ongoing battle to rectify the problem.
“I only hope the new Telstra CEO will take heed of the Communications Minister’s letter and seek to solve this inequitable situation,” Cr Bradford said.
“This anomaly is costing residents thousands of dollars each year and needs to be addressed urgently.”