E&OE TRANSCRIPT
RADIO INTERVIEW
ABC RADIO CANBERRA BREAKFAST WITH LISH FEJER
MONDAY, 15 FEBRUARY 2021

SUBJECTS: NBN in Canberra; Letter to Communications Minister.

LISH FEJER, HOST: How's your internet? Canberra's Federal Labor representatives, Senator Katy Gallagher, Andrew Leigh, Alicia Payne and David Smith have written to Paul Fletcher, the Minister for Communications about the NBN infrastructure in the ACT saying that it's just not good enough in the ACT. Canberrans receive a fair proportion of the $3.5 billion in funding announced to finish the NBN. I don't know how your internet is at home, but I know there are some, some rather dead spots around town. Alicia Payne is the Member for Canberra. Good morning.

ALICIA PAYNE, MEMBER FOR CANBERRA: Good morning, Lish. 

FEJER: What do you want?

PAYNE: We want the Government to invest in our Nation's Capital so that we don't have the worst NBN in the country. So we do have the worst NBN in the country at the moment, this comes down to the different infrastructure that's used. So, of course, there's fibre to the premises, which is the gold standard. And that's what, when the former Labor Government announced the NBN, that we were going to roll out all around the country. And then at the other end of the scale, you've got fibre to the node, which is the worst situation where the fibre comes to a box somewhere in your neighbourhood. And then it comes through the old copper networks to your house, and this could be more than 700 metres away. And so that really slows it down. The ACT has the highest proportion of fibre to the node of any state or city in Canberra in Australia, it's around 66% of households are on fibre to the node compared to the national proportion of 36%. So we want to see that improved.

FEJER: How are we going to get a bit of that funding? $3.5 billion in funding to finish the NBN. What proportion of that do we need here in the Territory?

PAYNE: Well, at the moment, we had none. So when the Government announced in September that $3.5 billion to upgrade fibre to the node and fibre to the curb networks, unlike the other states, no ACT suburbs were included in that list. And I think that is just yet another example of the Federal Government not investing in our Nation's Capital.

FEJER: Okay, who are you putting this to? Any input needed from Canberra residents if they can get onto the internet and send an email?

PAYNE: Absolutely. So Paul Fletcher is the Minister for Communications. And I encourage Canberrans who are struggling with their internet to join me in writing to him. It's very important and I am hearing from a lot of constituents about this. And it's an issue that the Canberra community councils have been really active on for a long time.

FEJER: Have you received a response from the letter, from your letter to the Minister for Communications?

PAYNE: I haven't yet, no.

FEJER: Maybe a communication breakdown. Just waiting stuck in the mail. I wonder if he's using the internet to get it to us from Parliament House. I hear there is a dead spot around there.

PAYNE: Just quickly, if people want to go to my Facebook, or my Instagram, I've posted maps on there where you can see how the ACT compares to other capital cities and see your suburb and what's connected there.

FEJER: Alicia Payne, thanks for joining us this morning.

PAYNE: Thanks very much, Lish.

FEJER: Alicia Payne, Member for Canberra. I wonder how your internet is? Do you find in Canberra, you think this town totally connected, but there are spots where it is really bad and I've heard from you before so if you are struggling, suffering, frustrated, you live in Canberra and you still have trouble with the internet. Get in touch.

ENDS
 
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