A Shorten Labor Government will complete the roll out of 21st century optic fibre to Ballarat.
An incoming Shorten Labor Government will direct NBN Co to prioritise the roll out of fibre-to-the-premises to the approximately 20,000 homes and businesses in Ballarat that cannot yet access Labor’s optic fibre NBN, including in:
- Alfredton, Bonshaw, Cardigan, Delacombe, Lake Gardens, Lake Wendouree, Miners Rest, Mitchell Park, Redan, Sebastopol and Wendouree.
Fast broadband creates local jobs. This is why the previous Labor Government delivered 21st century fibre-to-the-premises to Ballarat.
Malcolm Turnbull promised in 2013 that the remaining suburbs in Ballarat would have his second-rate NBN this year. Three years later, and construction has not even started.
“The cost of Malcolm Turnbull’s second-rate NBN has almost doubled, and the time it will take to build has more than doubled,” said Shadow Minister for Communications,
Jason Clare.
“In that time, Australia has dropped from 30th in the world for internet speeds to 60th.”
Shadow Minister for Health and Member for Ballarat, Catherine King, said that Malcolm Turnbull has left a deep digital divide across Ballarat.
“About 24,000 homes and businesses in Ballarat have access to Labor’s first-class NBN, while 20,000 others are stuck using a decaying copper network, frustrating users and crippling businesses,” she said.
“Malcolm Turnbull promised the people of Ballarat the NBN would be rolled out to every home and business in this electorate by the end of 2016—a promise we now know was never going to be kept.”
The most important piece of infrastructure for any 21st century economy is a first-rate fibre NBN.
Only Labor will fix Malcolm Turnbull’s mess and deliver the vital infrastructure of the 21st century to the whole of Ballarat.