Alannah Mactiernan (Perth, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In December 2013 the Prime Minister said in this place:

… we remain determined to ensure our NBN connects those Australians with the worst broadband in priority.

This is still coalition policy, developed by the PM as communications minister—suburbs, towns and regions with the worst broadband would receive the highest priority on the NBN rollout. Is the Prime Minister doing what he said he would do? Let us look at some of my constituents' experiences. There is Greg from Embleton, whose internet consistently runs below one megabit, according to speed tests, which is stopping him from setting up his web-based home business. Or Catherine from Bayswater, who, like so many residents in the Bayswater black hole, cannot access ADSL at all, as she lives too far from the exchange. Instead, she runs off a 12-gigabyte per month mobile broadband plan for her entire family.

Neither of these suburbs are on the current three-year rollout plan, but the much better serviced western suburbs got a gig. Even today's The West Australian described Bayswater and North Perth as operating at Venezuela speeds, and the rollout in these suburbs will not be involved in the next schedule. So the Prime Minister may have handed on management of the NBN, but the people of Perth will not forget whose fault it is. (Time expired)