Serious question marks over NBN rollout

PLANNING for the rollout of the Rudd Government’s National Broadband Network (NBN) in Tasmania appears to be non-existent, putting serious question marks over whether timeframes will be achieved, Liberal Senator Stephen Parry said today.

Senator Parry questioned a clearly defensive Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy, on the issue in Senate Estimates late yesterday.

“The Minister’s answers suggest planning is disorganised to the point of being almost non-existent in spite of commitments to have Smithton, Scottsdale and Midway Point `online’ by July next year,’’ he said.

“Not only has the Labor Government failed to begin consultation with the relevant communities, it has not even worked out how it will consult.

“There has also been no indication of how much it will cost the taxpayer to rollout the NBN in Tasmania or what fees end users are likely to pay.

“The Rudd Government grabbed headlines with its NBN commitment, but planning appears so lacking that the Smithton, Scottsdale and Midway Point communities will rightly be asking whether the network will be delivered mid next year as promised.

“This raises questions over whether Labor will be able to deliver on one of its most vaunted infrastructure projects.’’

Senator Parry also said a critical issue that the Government must resolve, particularly in Tasmania, is whether cabling will generally be laid above or below ground.

“On this question the Minister became tellingly defensive, while the NBN Company executive chair, Michael Quigley, appeared to indicate overhead cabling was more likely,’’ he said.

“Potential customers will no doubt wonder about the reliability of such a service, particularly given many thousands of Tasmanians were without power for some time recently when storms brought down lines.’’
Liberal Senator Stephen Parry