The federal government's independent auditor has slammed the Coalition's program as beset by “weaknesses” and providing poor value for money.

Indi had received 30 out of the 499 towers allocated during round one of the program.

But the auditor found 18 per cent of towers around the country “provided minimal new coverage of additional premises and kilometres of transport routes at a combined cost of $28 million”.

“As a consequence, public funding has resulted in substantial consolidation of existing coverage provided by grant applicants, as opposed to extending coverage in new areas – a key objective for the program,” the report stated.

Indi MP Cathy McGowan said she was not worried her region’s towers had been wasted.

Most of the towers were allocated to areas supported by council funding and the Victorian government’s $20 million contribution.

“Emergency Services Commissioner Craig Lapsley made sure almost all of that money went into areas to help human safety and highways,” Ms McGowan told The Border Mail.

The auditor’s report revealed the federal government placed a higher value on prospective towers which cost less, or attracted external funding, than those which offered new coverage to the area.

The Indi BlackSpots Local Government Committee, made up of Ms McGowan and representatives from each council, did not factor cost into its recommendations.

“It had nothing to do with it,” she said.

“We had our own priorities around human safety.”

The MP said she was concerned the towers were taking a long time to construct, but was also worried about where the $60 million for round three of the program would be allocated.

She said Regional Communications Minister Fiona Nash told her the government would prioritise its election commitments for new towers, leaving Ms McGowan worried about whether Indi would miss out in the future.

“If what she said is true, the politics of the election is going to have a greater bearing than need,” Ms McGowan said.

“That’s a problem because round one and round two (of the mobile black spot program) had a process.”