With Stephen Jones MP, Shadow Minister for Regional Communications. 

In April, the Communications Minister declared 2017 would be the ‘year of the customer’.

Well, I hope he considers today the most brutal of reality checks.

The release of the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) complaints figures for 2016-17 is a damning indictment of a Government that is completely out of touch.

The TIO reports that NBN complaints in 2016-17 surged by 159 per cent when compared to the previous period.

Of significant concern, NBN complaints are growing 37 per cent faster than the number of new NBN services being activated – a pattern not observed in any of the previous years.

And for the first time, internet services are the highest source of complaints to the TIO.

It is clear the multi-technology mix is unravelling, and NBN issues are becoming the new consumer standard under the Liberals’ watch.

Surely the Prime Minister can no longer pretend the deteriorating NBN situation is ‘in hand’ whilst households and small businesses continue to suffer from slow speeds, unreliable services and missed appointments.

Labor repeats its calls for the TIO to be given expanded powers in order to manage this burgeoning consumer crisis.

It is time Malcolm Turnbull discovered the humility to accept his failures, and got on with the task of making things better.