February 18, 2009
The Nationals Member for Gippsland Darren Chester is calling for the Government to subsidise the cost of set-top boxes for pensioners to access free-to-air television.
Since the Gippsland bushfires damaged the Mt Tassie transmission tower, many Gippslanders have been left unable to access local television stations unless they have a set-top box for digital TV,” Mr Chester said.
“I have been advised that some of those stations will be permanently unavailable if residents do not have a set-top box to access digital television.”
Mr Chester has called on the Government to extend the program trialled in Mildura last year, which assisted pensioners to purchase set-top boxes when their television transmission was switched over to a digital signal.
“Families on a low income and pensioners simply do not have the money to race out and buy this equipment,” Mr Chester said.
“I have written to the Minister for Broadband, Communication and the Digital economy seeking his support to fast-track the Mildura scheme and provide Gippslanders with some assistance to fund set-top boxes across Gippsland.”