This morning our PM was on the radio, having a chat about the NBN – as you do – and when asked about the rollout (and its many issues) Turnbull replied with, “I think we’ve got this in hand”.
It’s a statement that caused Shadow Minister for Communications Michelle Rowland to compile a veritable laundry list of reasons why Turnbull’s assertions just aren’t gonna wash with the public.
Here’s Rowland’s list:
- A cost blowout of $20 billion
- A rollout schedule 3 years behind the promised timeline
- Australia slipping from 30th to 51st in international broadband rankings
- 150 per cent increase in TIO complaints about NBN faults
- The failure to secure private debt which required Government to provide a $19 billion loan
- A 1,075 per cent blowout in the copper remediation bill to $640 million
- 76 per cent of NBN users reporting slow speeds, disconnections, and dropouts
- Small businesses reporting they are losing an average of $9,000 when switching to NBN
- A HFC activation process that remains a mess with one in six premises in limbo
- Australians being quoted $15,800 to switch from copper to fibre, despite the promise it would be $2,250
“Not only is the Prime Minister delivering a network that costs more and does less, but he is creating an unforgivable digital divide with his flawed multi-technology mix,” Rowland says.
“He should at least have the humility to accept his NBN failures, and get on with the job of fixing them.”
Ooft.