LOCALS IN LIMBO AS TURNBULL PULLS THE PLUG ON NBN ROLLOUT DATA

27 January 2017

Once again the Turnbull Government has shown absolute contempt for Australian consumers seeking information about the NBN.

On 20 December, 2016 NBN Co removed information from its website that allowed consumers to check what specific technology their home was going to receive.

“Does the Turnbull Government really believe people in areas like Ipswich and the Somerset Region do not care what technology they will be connected with?” Federal Member for Blair, Shayne Neumann asked.

“This decision assumes that the quality of broadband is just an afterthought for ordinary people buying a house or choosing a place to rent.”

This latest attempt to reduce transparency is a direct consequence of the multi-technology-mess that is unfolding by the week.

“The Liberal Government’s technology mix forecasts have jumped around like a yoyo.

“Malcolm Turnbull’s short-sighted and reckless hybrid Fibre Co-Axial (HFC) and Fibre to the Node (FTTN) scheme is in chaos.

“Over three years on and this hapless Government still cannot tell Australians what technology they will receive when they are connected to the NBN.”

On top of this a further 400,000 brownfield Fibre to the Home connections were ripped out of the 2017 Corporate Plan and will be replaced by second rate FTTN.

“Of course, what do we expect from an incompetent Government that has turned a blind eye to the ongoing Centrelink debt recovery crisis?” Mr Neumann said.

Malcolm Turnbull has repeatedly promised transparency on the NBN:

"But our commitment is, our focus is, to have a much greater level of transparency and openness."

Malcolm Turnbull MP, Press Conference (24 September 2013)

"The bottom line is that as far as the NBN project is concerned, the government's commitment is to be completely transparent."

Malcolm Turnbull MP, House of Representatives Hansard (11 February 2014)

"The Government requires a high degree of transparency from NBN Co in its communication with the public and Parliament."

Malcolm Turnbull MP & Senator Mathias Cormann, Statement of Expectations to NBN Co (8 April 2014)

“Yet these promises, as with everything to do with the Prime Minister, have turned out to be the same hollow rhetoric that has disappointed so many across the country.

“There is only one reason for Malcolm Turnbull covering up the truth – his second rate NBN is a mess and he is responsible for it.”