Dr Mike Kelly, Labor candidate for Eden-Monaro, has launched a petition against the Abbott Government’s National Broadband Network roll-out, which he says will negatively affect house values across large areas of Eden-Monaro, and result in higher costs for rural and regional residents.
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The Government’s “archaic” approach to the NBN, Dr Kelly said, was creating two classes of homeowner in Eden-Monaro: those who had fibre-to-the-premises connected for free under Labor and those who are receiving Tony Abbott’s inferior fibre-to-the-node system.
The result is an unfair home-valuation differential and business disadvantage for all Eden-Monaro residents who live outside Central Queanbeyan and Googong.
“The National Broadband Network is the biggest, most important infrastructure project in Australia's history. It is vital to the way we will provide health services, deliver a world class education and build a strong and growing economy,” Dr Kelly said.
Under Labor, 93 per cent of homes and businesses were to receive a super-fast version of the NBN that uses fibre optic cable to deliver speeds of up to 1 gigabit per second.
Instead, Tony Abbott's Liberal Party is building a network that creates two classes of Australians – those fortunate enough to have received the super-fast Labor NBN and those who are stuck with the second rate Liberal NBN.
“Unfortunately residents of Eden-Monaro who live outside of Queanbeyan or Googong - including those in Jerrabomberra - will be getting big ugly green cabinets and unreliable copper to the home because they are under the Liberal NBN,” Dr Kelly said.
“And, while Labor’s plan included connection to the premises, there are now large costs involved if residents and businesses want to connect fibre to their premises.
"To make matters, worse the Abbott Government removed the price guarantee introduced by Labor that meant people in rural and regional Australia would pay the same wholesale price for broadband as people living in our cities."
Malcolm Turnbull promised that every home and business would have access to 25 megabits per second by the end of 2016.
“Malcolm Turnbull made a lot of promises and he has failed. The NBN is rolling out slower than Malcolm Turnbull promised and will cost more than he promised.
“We have had enough talk from the Liberals on this issue, now we just need some action. I want quality access to the NBN for all of Eden-Monaro,” Dr Kelly said.
If you would like to sign the petition for quality access to the NBN please go to mikekelly.org.au