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Hawkesbury City Council is facing mounting questions after it emerged that funding for a critical emergency communications tower at Berambing lapsed, potentially leaving bushfire-prone communities without the mobile coverage improvements originally promised following the Black Summer bushfires.
The Hawkesbury Gazette has sought answers from Council about how the funding was lost and why residents were not informed sooner. As of publication, Council has not responded to a series of formal questions put to it earlier this week.
The communications tower was intended to address long-standing mobile blackspots along Bells Line of Road and in the Upper Macdonald Valley, areas that experienced severe communication failures during the 2019-20 bushfires.
Funding Lapsed Before Project Completion
Federal Member for Macquarie Susan Templeman MP confirmed that Hawkesbury City Council approached her office on the eve of the May 2025 federal election, advising that the funding agreement for the Berambing tower had expired on 31 March 2025 and the project would not be completed within the required timeframe.
“I was disappointed that Council and Telstra had not been able to complete the project in the timeframe required under the funding program,” Ms Templeman said.
The funding had been provided through the Black Summer Bushfire Recovery grants program, designed specifically to address communication failures exposed during the catastrophic fires.
Those failures left many communities unable to contact emergency services when power and telecommunications networks were disrupted.
Special Grant Round Reopens Door
Ms Templeman said she immediately made representations to the Federal Minister responsible, seeking a solution.
“As a direct result of my advocacy, the project was resurrected when the Minister was able to secure a special grant round that opened in December 2025,” she said.
Council subsequently applied for funding in that special round.
However, the project now remains uncertain.
The application is currently under assessment by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the NSW Reconstruction Authority, while telecommunications provider Telstra considers whether it will proceed with construction of the Berambing tower.
Telstra Reconsidering the Tower
Ms Templeman said she has expressed concern directly to Telstra about its hesitation.
“I am very disappointed with Telstra’s reconsideration about the need for the Berambing tower,” she said.
While coverage has improved in some areas following the construction of the Mount Tomah tower and subsequent optimisation work earlier this year, Ms Templeman said the current network still leaves gaps.
“There remain mobile blackspots that I would have expected to be addressed by the planned Berambing tower,” she said.
“I do not believe this is as good as it can get.”
Concerns Over Emergency Resilience
The Black Summer funding program was specifically designed to strengthen communication networks in disaster-prone regions.
Ms Templeman said that objective remains critical for communities along Bells Line of Road and in surrounding valleys.
“I am particularly concerned about the resilience and redundancy of the current mobile system given the bushfire and storm-prone nature of our community,” she said.
“Remember, the Black Summer grant was aimed at addressing communication failures caused by terrain and power issues during emergency events like the 2019-20 fires.”
Council Yet to Answer Key Questions
The Hawkesbury Gazette has written to Hawkesbury City Council seeking clarification on several issues surrounding the funding lapse.
At the time of publication no response has been received.
Questions put to Council include:
- Why were impacted communities not informed immediately in March or April 2025 that the funding had been returned?
- Has an internal review been conducted into how the situation occurred?
- Will Council issue a formal apology to affected communities?
- What specific steps has Council taken to restore the funding?
- If the original funding cannot be restored, what alternative funding sources are being pursued?
- What is the current status of the proposed communications tower for the Upper Macdonald Valley?
Given the importance of reliable communications infrastructure for bushfire-prone communities, particularly for emergency preparedness and response, the Gazette requested a response by 4 March 2026.
That deadline has now passed.
Communities Left Waiting
For residents living along Bells Line of Road and in remote valleys, reliable mobile coverage is not simply about convenience.
During bushfires, floods, storms and medical emergencies, communications infrastructure can mean the difference between reaching help or being cut off entirely.
Ms Templeman said she will continue advocating for improved coverage.
“As always, I will continue advocating for the best possible mobile coverage for our communities,” she said.
For now, however, the future of the Berambing communications tower and the improvements it promised remains uncertain.
