With Julie Collins MP, Senator Catryna Bilyk, and Brian Mitchell MP.
It was a packed room in Howrah Sunshine Recreation Centre in Hobart last night as over 100 local residents came together to express their sheer disappointment in Malcolm Turnbull’s second-rate NBN.
Residents at the forum shared their frustrations with the performance and reliability of NBN services delivered over Malcolm Turnbull’s copper-based Fibre-to-the-Node network.
Residents voiced their unanimous disappointment that Malcolm Turnbull has denied Tasmanian households and businesses a future-proof fibre connection, and instead lumped them with poor quality ageing copper.
Residents reported they were experiencing slow speeds, dropouts and variations in service quality. Tasmanian residents are frustrated that they are not receiving the service they are paying for. It was not surprising to find residents questioning why they were being sold NBN plans with service quality and speeds that Malcolm Turnbull’s second-rate network is not capable of delivering to their home.
Many residents expressed their frustration with the lack of accountability and the consistent blame-shifting between Retail Service Providers and NBNCo when there are faults. As a result of this blame-shifting, residents are left with nowhere to turn to get basic broadband services.
Residents voiced concerns about the continued operation of medical alarms and other medical equipment as they transition to the NBN, particularly in instances where services stop working following a power outage.
Residents also expressed their frustration about the lack of transparency for households connected to NBNCo micro-nodes and their performance. There were also complaints about the lack of information where premises have been designated as Service Class Zero and residents are unable to order a service.
Unfortunately the issues raised at this forum are not unique and they speak to the broader national failure of Malcolm Turnbull’s NBN rollout. Australians deserve world-class broadband and Malcolm Turnbull has instead relegated the nation to outdated last century technology. It is no wonder that on Malcom Turnbull’s watch Australia dropped from 30th to 56th in the world for internet speed rankings.
Labor is committed to standing up for residents who have been left in the dark by Malcolm Turnbull’s second-rate copper NBN. Residents in Tasmania are feeling the brunt of Malcolm Turnbull’s NBN failures.
Federal Labor representatives listened carefully to the issues raised by residents at last night’s forum. Tasmanian Labor representatives will be pursuing these matters to assist residents in having their problems resolved, including taking up the issues in Parliament. Hearing the frustrating stories from these local residents has made us more determined than ever to prosecute the case for world class fibre broadband for Tasmanian families and businesses.
A resident at the forum summed up Malcolm Turnbull’s failed NBN well when they stated:
"I'd like to thank Malcolm Turnbull for giving us two cans and a piece of string".
