Cansdell invites telcos to Grafton

IF Telstra doesn’t want a call centre in Grafton, we’ll find a telco that does.

This is the philosophy of Member for Clarence, Steve Cansdell, in trying to turn the negative of Telstra axing 108 jobs from the area, into something more positive.

Upon hearing yesterday’s announcement that Telstra had decided to go ahead with its plan to close down its Grafton call centre, Mr Cansdell wrote letters to Optus and Vodafone, inviting them to establish their own.

“I’ve written to them inviting them to meet with me in Sydney at their offices with the possibility of taking over a call centre here,” Mr Cansdell said.

“They’d be basically set up with a workforce ready to go in a community that is very upset with their competition; there’s a possibility they could do very well here.”

In the letters, Mr Cansdell outlined the situation created by Telstra’s decision and urged them to ‘fill the gap’, in a community where they would receive a hero’s welcome from residents disillusioned with Telstra.

Mr Cansdell has been united with Federal Member for Page, Janelle Saffin, and Clarence Valley Council mayor, Richie Williamson, in calling for Telstra and other telcos to consider expanding their operations in regional areas rather than consolidating them in the bigger cities.

Read more:

Telstra says closure will go ahead