Ms ROXON (11:50 AM) —On 30 April, against community objection, Telstra closed its call centre in Footscray, in my electorate of Gellibrand. This closure resulted in a loss of 100 jobs from my electorate and had a consequent impact on local business. It is a loss that my electorate can ill afford. Gellibrand has an unemployment rate of 11.8 per cent, nearly twice the national average, and we have a youth unemployment rate of over 28 per cent.

The Footscray Call Centre was part of a new and expanding telecommunications industry. It is part of that new growth industry which we all held out so much hope for, and in the west of Melbourne we were proud to be part of that industry. As soon as I heard about the decision to close the call centre, I contacted Telstra's management. Telstra initially told me that it might consider making some contribution to our community, perhaps through sponsorship of a local organisation in the region, but since then it has been ducking any contact with me.

I pleaded with Telstra for a review of this decision. I wrote to Telstra. I raised the matter in parliament and I sent Telstra copies of my speech. I pleaded for consideration of our regional needs. That was over a month ago, and Telstra's only response has been deafening silence. I am furious at the way that Telstra has treated our community. Not only has it taken 100 jobs from Footscray but it has shown complete disregard for our community by avoiding my requests for discussions and running from its decision to abandon our region.

Telstra's new CEO, Mr Ziggy Switkowski, was quoted recently in the Australian Financial Review as saying that `his first objective was to ensure that Telstra continues to deliver real value to its shareholders and customers'. This decision by Telstra to close its call centre shows that we are not getting real value in Melbourne's west. It seems as though this is the way that Telstra intends to treat complaints and community concerns: simply by ignoring them. Is the west of Melbourne so low on the new CEO's list of priorities that regional Telstra managers cannot even respond to community queries?

As I have said before in this place, Telstra is not just any business. Telstra plays a vital role in our community, and we are all its customers and all still its owners. Telstra should have taken a community view on this decision to close the Albert Street call centre, not just a business view. At the very least, Telstra could have had the decency to talk to the community, and to me as the community's representative, about this issue.

Had Telstra implemented its suggestion of sponsoring a local organisation in the region, that would not have fixed the problem of removing 100 jobs from our high unemployment area but it might have eased the pain a little. Telstra could have put something back into the community from which it is taking those much needed jobs. Telstra could have contributed to the youth programs that are struggling for funds in our area. It could have contributed to the drug initiatives in the region. Telstra could step in and contribute towards saving the specialist parenting phone counselling service Parents Anonymous, due to close this Friday.

Telstra has mishandled the important issue of this closure, and has been contemptuous of our community. I call on Telstra to meet with me and to take this chance to show its commitment to our community in the west by making an appropriate contribution to our local region.