Anne Stanley (Werriwa, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Those in the electorate of Werriwa in suburbs like West Hoxton, Middleton Grange, Long Point, Prestons and Casula have been waiting for a decent internet connection for over a decade. First, residents in Werriwa were told, 'You can't have ADSL because you live too far from the exchange', or, 'There aren't any ports left'. Then they were told that Telstra was holding off on upgrades to the local area because of the impending rollout of the NBN. Then they were told that the NBN was finally coming soon to their homes. But, now, in December 2017, they discover that they will be waiting at least another six to nine months. I'm beginning to wonder if those opposite just assume that slow commutes and lousy internet speeds in south-western Sydney makes us really patient people. If that is the case, I'm more than happy to dispel that illusion.

A number of my constituents in Hinchinbrook have recently been moved over to the HFC. They have not reported a positive experience at all. A forum I held earlier this year in nearby Greenway Park was over capacity, primarily as a result of people wanting to voice their issues with their new connections. The complaints ranged from poor internet speeds to a lack of information and clear instructions for back-to-base alarms, medical alarms and landline-only services.

One constituent in particular, Mr Johnny Multari, has been trying for five months to have the issues with his HFC connection rectified. Mr Multari had an internet connection over the existing Telstra cable network—the same network that the NBN uses for its HFC—and he was advised that his service quality would improve after switching over. He was disappointed, to say the least, when he discovered that his speeds were substantially slower, particularly in the peak, after switching to HFC. He reported the issue and was paid many visits by NBN technicians, who, each time, would examine the line in his premises and confirm that it was a network issue caused by upstream congestion. The technicians also confirmed to him that he wasn't the only household affected in the area and that they would make NBN aware of the issue.

Each time after Mr Multari's issues were reported to the NBN nothing else would happen, as the NBN would mark the issue as resolved and state that the issue was with his service provider and not the network. His sheer frustration with the whole situation was so great that he said he'd rather be reconnected to the older Telstra cable connection until that network switchover date because he would at least have time to find somewhere else to live that had a decent internet connection! That is not a reasonable decision for anyone in Australia to have to make.

And it isn't just technicians who have been acknowledging the issues with the HFC network for some time. Even providers are aware of the issues. Another of my constituents in Hinchinbrook was recently advised that he was now able to switch over to the new HFC connection. When he asked his service provider, Telstra, about service quality and what he could expect, he was told that his current internet speeds were the best he would get and that when he went over to the HFC it would be a slower connection.

How has it taken so long for anyone to acknowledge that the HFC network was a disaster for most households from the start? I would have thought that it was common sense that before inflicting such technology you would check that it actually delivers and improves service quality. The reality is that we are seeing yet again the Liberals' NBN for what it is: a cheap second-rate combination of old technologies cobbled together in a way that not only fails to improve speeds for households but makes the speeds slower.

For those other constituents who have waited for any internet, they must now wait longer. I've spoken about residents of Long Point in this place before. They probably feel that they've already served their time, having originally been promised HFC connections back in February. But they continue to wait for any connection and now will wait for another nine months. The minister said in October that the NBN would be the envy of the world. Unfortunately, the corner of that world that my electorate occupies would not agree with that statement, and it seems that the 160 per cent rise in complainants to the Telecommunication Industry Ombudsman in the last financial year shares their frustration.

The experience of Werriwa residents is simply not good enough; they deserve much better. Small business can't function; students can't do schoolwork; and pensioners are confused and concerned. The NBN rollout must be improved. Not to do so relegates my constituents to third-rate or fourth-rate services. I'm continuing to push for a better deal for residents in Werriwa.

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