Southsiders are being left behind and getting second class broadband services while Mr Turnbull enjoys 100 megabits per second (Mbps) at home, Terri Butler said.

“Less than half of the electorate of Griffith is connected to the NBN, and those who are connected are suffering with poor speeds and unreliable services,” Terri Butler said.

Malcolm Turnbull has been a long-term sceptic of the need for 100 Mbps speeds, yet answers given at Senate Estimates have revealed that he has taken out a 100 Mbps NBN plan himself.

“Malcolm Turnbull has one standard for himself and another for everyone else,” Terri Butler said.
 
“The government has stubbornly pushed ahead with the rollout of a second-rate NBN, which is slower and more expensive than Labor’s planned Fibre to the Premises.

“The announcement last week that the NBN would start rolling out Fibre to the Curb is an admission that the long-term economics of fibre are superior to those of Malcolm Turnbull’s copper and Hybrid Fibre Coaxial.

“While Labor welcomes the Fibre to the Curb announcement, I’m concerned that Southside locals are being left with an inferior broadband service.

“Reports out today that NBN complaints to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman increased by 204 per cent over 2017.

“I’m not surprised by these reports because my own office has received plenty of complaints about the lack of access to reliable, fast broadband locally.

“The Turnbull government has spent three years plodding around like a disinterested spectator.

“The NBN must be fixed, and Southsiders deserve services just as good and reliable as those in Point Piper,” Terri Butler said.

TUESDAY, 17 APRIL 2018