2017-10-31
The Australian Greens will investigate legislative options to write-down NBNCo’s debt, backing the suggestions put forward by the ACCC today.
“Rolling out the NBN has put too much pressure on recovering NBNCo’s costs rather than providing an essential service to Australians. We need to stop thinking of the internet as a profit-making endeavour and start treating it as an important utility like water or electricity,” Greens communications spokesperson Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said.
“The ACCC today has said what industry and consumers have been crying out for. A clear path forward is writing down the debt and moving on with providing world-class internet for all Australians.
“The business model was wrong from the beginning, contributing to ballooning debt for a service Australians are losing faith in. Neither the ALP, or the LNP Government, are willing to acknowledge they stuffed up and the debt needs to be written down. Australians deserve better.
“Polling released today shows a staggering 93 per cent of Australians consider the internet is an essential service; well, it’s time the LNP Government caught up with the public and supported measures being taken to prioritise this service.
“As a member of the Joint Standing Committee on the National Broadband Network, I’ll be putting this issue on the agenda to examine a restructure of NBNCo, giving industry, NBNCo and the ACCC the opportunity to rationally discuss this problem and find the best way forward.
“Our world is becoming more connected every day and we are lagging behind as a nation. It is unsurprising that half of Australians have lost hope that the NBN will meet the country’s future internet need – when it’s not meeting our current needs."
Media contact: Amy Moran 0427 760 604