Mr Chester said many of the most fire prone parts of Gippsland did not have reliable mobile phone coverage and would not benefit from the new system even if it was introduced in November this year as planned.

"We have many parts of Gippsland where mobile phone coverage is unreliable or non existent and the Federal Government is not doing enough to overcome these black spots,'' Mr Chester said.

"If we are going to proceed down the path of a telephone-based emergency warning system, it is critical that all residents and holiday makers are able to be contacted in an emergency.''