Telstra defends NSW flood response, saying lengthy outages unavoidable

Local MPs in the NSW northern rivers, including Catherine Cusack, have been unhappy with communication from Telstra about efforts to restore services. Photograph: Jay Penfold/The Guardian

Telstra has defended its response to recent floods in northern New South Wales, saying large-scale and lengthy outages were inevitable once rivers cut off electricity or flooded base stations.

Telstra’s chief executive, Andy Penn, said it was understandable for communities to be frustrated about disruption to telecommunications but the damage to infrastructure was significant, and it would take time to rebuild.