Private member's bill pushes to hold telcos 'accountable' for service

Liberal MP Julian Leeser says a private member’s bill he is pushing with 16 other MPs is designed to enforce "better accountabilities" on telecommunications companies for service in metropolitan and regional areas.

“Telecommunications is a fundamental service that Australians rely on but in many respects, we had better telco 20 years ago when we all had landlines because at least you could make a call from inside your house,” he told Sky News host Alan Jones.

“There are so many premises today, including in my electorate and right across the country, where Telstra and the other telcos will say there’s coverage but there’s only coverage if you stand at the back paddock on the dog kennel and the wind’s blowing in the right direction.

“That’s not coverage in anyone’s language.

“There needs to be a universal service obligation for mobile phones so people can actually make calls in their house or in their business like we used to be able to when everyone had landlines.”