My name is George Hannaford and my address at this point in time (electorally) would be

My new address (electorally) will be 7074/101 Lindfield Road, HELENSVALE, QLD. 4212. as soon as I become eligible to be change it.

The reason for this is, my wife & I have sold our property at Runaway Bay and have only just taken up residence at Helensvale three weeks ago.

My telephone / facsimile # is (07) 5580 7074 now and Mobile # is 0414 282 832.

I am a former grazier and graingrower from the Southern Darling Downs Region in QUEENSLAND and I wish to express my complete opposition to the sale of the remainder of Telstra.

I have not experienced any dissatisfaction with the service of Telstra during the eighteen and a half years that I have lived at the Gold Coast in Queensland.

My opposition to its sale is related to the failure/inconvenience being experienced by rural people generally mainly in the area of them not receiving satisfactory mobile phone services.

By way of an example, our son who resides in Inglewood, Queensland regularly speaks to us on a mobile phone whilst driving between the towns of Inglewood and Texas and at a point about 26 kms. from Inglewood the service invariably 'drops out'. There obviously is a 'blind spot' of a kind there where the signal is absent.

Today, as he spoke to us driving from Texas towards Bonshaw in NSW, again the reception failed.

There is nothing perculiar about the weather pattern to account for these happenings.

I grant that, in comparison with other rural peoples' lack of service my complaint will not rate very highly and we smpathise with what they have to endure in the way of poor service.

I venture to say that, if the remainder of Telstra were to be sold to a private operator, complainants "in the bush" will receive very little in the way of service because numerically they don't count for much in far too many peoples' eyes. Australia will rue the day that it ignores the real value those who live in more remote areas are to our country's wellbeing.

This inquiry has given me the opportunity to voice my opinion and I'm grateful for that.