MICHELLE ROWLAND MP
SHADOW MINISTER FOR COMMUNICATIONS
MEMBER FOR GREENWAY
FAKE NBN REVENUE TARGETS ARE BEING USED TO CREATE SPIN AND PAY OUT EXCESSIVE BONUSES
Third-quarter results released on Friday indicate NBNCo will surpass its full-year $4.5 billion FY2021 “revenue target” by at least $200 to $300 million.
Minister Fletcher will heap self-congratulatory admiration upon himself after 1 July for this “result”, but do not be fooled by this devious and fabricated spin.
The most recent NBN Corporate Plan contains the latest in a string of significant downward revisions to the FY2021 revenue target, making it easy to exceed the stated KPI.
FY2021 revenue target
- 2018 Corporate Plan: $5.4 billion
- 2019 Corporate Plan: $5.2 billion
- 2020 Corporate Plan: $4.9 billion
- 2021 Corporate Plan: $4.5 billion
If past practice continues, senior NBN executive bonuses will be linked to the radically revised down target of $4.5 billion.
NBNCo has the right to shift forecasts in their Corporate Plan, but not if the purpose is to manufacture a false media narrative, to distract from cost blowouts and to try justify excessive corporate bonuses by surpassing misleading low-ball targets.
Labor has raised this concern for several years and has been consistent in flagging concerns about this practice.
The reality is these revised-down targets cannot be missed, despite targets outlined in prior Corporate plans regularly being missed by wide margins.
Rather than fabricating self-congratulatory spin, perhaps Minister Fletcher or NBNCo can examine the insidious contracting scheme that was used to cut the payment rates of frontline NBN subcontractors and technicians during COVID-19?
SUNDAY, 9 MAY 2021
