Two federal Labor Shadow Ministers have slammed the National Broadband Network over a ‘botched’ rollout which they say left emergency services in a remote part of Western Australia without satellite communications services.
According to the Shadow Minister for Communications, Michelle Rowland and Stephen Jones, the Shadow Minister for Regional Communications, a working satellite servicing areas of the Kimberley region in Western Australia was turned off without any NBN service in place to provide coverage.
The two Shadow Ministers issued a joint statement on Thursday, in which they said the “bungled” NBN satellite rollout had left remote communities and users with no service, including remote emergency services operators.
They say two remote bases of emergency service operator HeliSpirit, based in Kununurra in Western Australia, were left without crucial Internet connectivity and with no replacement service under the NBN rollout.
{loadposition peter}The Shadow Ministers say the lack of service has left HeliSpirit’s medivac and search and rescue operations at risk, because their aircraft cannot operate safely without Internet service.
According to the Shadow Ministers, HeliSpirit had requested NBN connections be made 8 months prior to the former satellite being switched off, but still NBN Co had not connected them.
The Labor Party has written to the Minister for Communications, Mitch Fifield, seeking an urgent explanation and issued a reminder that it had been calling for an independent review into the NBN satellite service to make sure more consumers don’t have the same coverage problems that HeliSpirit have faced.
Echoing industry comments, including repeated concerns by Internet Australia that the NBN and its current mix of technology will result in an “inferior’ NBN, the two Shadow Ministers say rural and regional customers deserve better than the “inferior service" the Turnbull Government is rolling out.
“This issue is yet another example of the failure of Malcolm Turnbull’s second rate NBN. Now his stuff up is impacting on emergency services,” the statement says, while pointing out that the reported Kimberley problem comes just days after “NBN Co claimed that NBN satellite service reliability has been massively improved”.
“Malcolm Turnbull has a terrible record of backflips and spin on NBN satellites. In opposition he opposed them, in Government he’s applauded them and now he has bungled their implementation.
“Once again we see Malcolm Turnbull’s botched rollout of his second rate NBN is leaving consumers with poor service.
“Labor has been calling for an independent review into the NBN satellite service to make sure more consumers don’t have the same coverage problems that HeliSpirit have faced.
“Australia needs a National Broadband Network that is truly national and serves all of Australia’s communities, both urban and regional,” the Shadow Ministers conclude.