Telstra expects the SA Government will announce during its Country Cabinet meeting in Naracoorte a commitment to partially fund 27 mobile phone towers.

The 27 towers form Telstra’s $40 million Limestone Coast Connectivity project, with each tower estimated to cost $1.5 million.

The telco giant, which posted a $2.1 billion profit after tax in August, is only funding around 25 per cent of the project itself.

Telstra pushed for secrecy and closed doors during a presentation which rolled on for almost an hour at the October 13 meeting of the Limestone Coast Local Government Association (LCLGA) in Kingston.

The association is funded by the region’s ratepayers, via their councils, and its meetings are supposed to be public, unless confidentiality is required for specific items, like tender contracts.

The association failed to follow due process, with the Telstra presentation not listed as “confidential” in its agenda, and no recommendation moved or seconded for the meeting to be held in secret.

Excluded from the meeting from 10.15am until 10.56am, The [Naracoorte Community] News was the only media in attendance and has previously reported on the project following Telstra’s presentation to Naracoorte Lucindale Council.

Seeking $140,000 from NLC, then a reduced $115,000 – that council rejected both of Telstra’s requests.

But with financial backing from Tatiara, Kingston, Robe, Wattle Range, Grant and Mount Gambier councils, and a possible state contribution of around 20 percent, Telstra hopes the Federal Government will soon announce funding for 50 per cent of the project’s cost.

Telstra regional general manager Tasmania and SA, Michael Patterson, has been wooing our region’s councils to hand over ratepayer cash.

Giving a presentation via the Internet at the October 13 meeting, which was a public meeting, Mr Patterson spoke for only three minutes. Then the media was asked to leave the room, but no other guests in the public gallery.

“I am just going to do a presentation on where to from here in terms of the digitisation of all of the Limestone Coast LGA,” Mr Patterson said.

“But I think I’m gunna pause on that one and just cover off on the project, the connectivity project, then answer any questions, discuss any issues, talk about solutions.

“I think in a future meeting we can talk about digitisation, which is I guess, you have connectivity in the region, and then you know what you can do as a local government in terms of improving how you operate as a local government, how you communicate to your constituents and improve, you know, health and safety, disaster management and things like that.

“I think I’m gunna put that on the backburner and just cover off, you know, the regional connectivity program round three project, and then talk through any issues that may be on anybody’s mind.

“But I’m just going to take you through some thinking about the project.”

He said the connectivity application had been submitted.

“I want to thank everybody in the room for their support during the process,” said Mr Patterson, despite the NLC rejection.

“It was, as you recall, about eight or nine months in gestation. And it is currently sitting with the Federal Government, the Commonwealth, for their consideration, and we anticipate for them to make a decision by around the end of November.

“We had hoped it was going to be October, but I think we’re hearing November.”

Mr Patterson said it was a “very complex negotiation”.

“Because after I talked to each of the councils I used to go to obviously other parties, industry, and also the States,” he said.

“And I can’t go into detail about the States because they’re coming to the region in a couple of weeks.

“And I’m gunna let them make their own announcements…I don’t want to make any jump on what they want to talk about when they go to the region.”

Mr Patterson inquired if any media were in the room and several association members bellowed “Yes”.

There was no formal motion to move into confidence.

At 10.15am association chairman Lynette Martin asked The [Naracoorte Community] News representative to leave the room.

The [Naracoorte Community] News did so willingly and in good faith that the exit would be brief, given it was a public meeting.

But almost an hour later, at 10.56 am, media was finally allowed to re-enter the room.

Mr Patterson had finished his presentation and there was no further discussion.

Regarding a digitisation program that Mr Patterson referred to for the region’s LGAs – it involves things like backing up client records on devices such as tablets; providing employees with electronic payslips; placing orders via on-line portals, and emailing receipts with Point of Sale software instead of usual invoices.

Telstra announced this month it had bought a cloud services business, Versent, for $267.5 million.

Versent is a provider of cloud transformation and security products and services. For the 2023 financial year Versent announced a $130 million net revenue.

This article appeared in the Naracoorte Community News.