Cathy McGowan (Indi, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to present a petition that has been approved by the House.

The petition read as follows—

To the Honourable The Speaker and Members of the House of Representatives

This petition of concerned residents of Allans Flat, Victoria, 3691 draws to the attention of the House, the urgent need for an upgraded internet service for Allans Flat, Victoria.

After consultation with Telstra regarding poor internet speeds, testing was carried out at the main Telstra ADSL junction box located at corner of Albion Lane and Osbornes Flat Road, Allans Flat. Following these tests Telstra advised that the junction box was congested and in need of major hardware upgrades. This is true because speed tests carried out by 3 residents closest to the junction box showed that on most occasions download speeds were less than the Telstra guarantee of 1.5mbps.

Telstra has advised me that at present it is not feasible to upgrade the junction box to ADSL2, however it will be serviced at end of 2015 to handle the number of customers on the network but will only remain an ADSL1 facility. This is of concern considering that NBN Co Ltd has indicated there is no future planned rollout of broadband facilities to service our immediate area.

Residents of Allans Flat; from students to business owners, should not be forced to accept an internet service that disadvantages us to our metropolitan and urban regional counterparts.

We respectfully petition the House to either a) Priorities and implement the rollout of the NBN broadband network to service our immediate area or b) apply pressure to Telstra to upgrade their junction boxes from ADSL1 to ADSL2 or higher

From 64 citizens

Petition received.

The petition has been signed by 63 residents of Allans Flat, in my electorate of Indi. The intent of the petition is to draw the House's attention to the urgent need for an upgrade of internet services for Allans Flat. The residents consulted with Telstra regarding poor internet speeds. Tests conducted by Telstra showed that there was congestion at the junction box and that major hardware upgrades were needed to fix this issue.

The residents of Allans Flat are in a no-win situation. On one hand, Telstra advises it is not feasible to upgrade the junction box to ADSL2 and, on the other hand, NBN Co. advises that there are no further planned rollouts of broadband facilities to service this area. Allen's Flat residents now have to endure download speeds that are inconsistent and are frequently less than the Telstra guarantee, of 1.5 Mbps. This is just not good enough for the students, the businesses and the families who live in this regional part of Australia.

I support the sentiments of this petition. I say thank you to Carl Raines for getting it organised. On behalf of the residents of Allans Flat I call on the government to solve this problem. I call on NBN Co. to prioritise the rollout of the broadband network to service Allans Flat or to direct Telstra to upgrade junction boxes from ADSL1 to ADSL2 or higher in those areas not included in the NBN rollout plan.