Labor's plan to rescue the National Broadband Network and scale up rollout of fibre-to-the-premises

For everyone tired of the debacle that is the Abbott-Turnbull Government’s National Broadband Network (NBN) rollout, there may be some hope……..

http://www.100positivepolicies.org.au/

Labor Candidate For Page Janelle Saffin, media release, 13 June 2016:

An incoming Shorten Labor Government will direct NBN Co. to prioritise the rollout of Fibre-to-the-Premises NBN to homes and businesses across the electorate of Page. 

In the entire electorate of Page, not a single existing home or business will get Malcolm Turnbull’s second rate Fibre-to-the-Node network by 2016 as initially promised. Not one…

Janelle Saffin said that there was a lot of dissatisfaction in the region about Turnbull’s flawed NBN.

“Stephen and I spoke to Keda Ley and her family today to find out why the NBN matters so much to them,” Ms Saffin said.

“She is a mum of three who works and studies from home and she needs a strong, reliable Internet connection to make this happen.

“There are families just like the Ley family across the region; in the 21st century they need first-rate Internet services.

“Of course it isn’t just households who stand to benefit from Labor’s plan. Small business owners can’t compete if they are constantly being held back by an inferior broadband connection. 

“The NBN build has not even started in Grafton, Lismore, Alstonville, Casino, Evans Head, Woolgoolga and Yamba. These areas deserve better and Labor will deliver for them......

Question Time in the Australian House of Representatives reveals the arbitrary nature and downright absurdity of the National Broadband Network rollout

In Australia where the dead have better Internet access than the living……

Hansard, 16 October 2017:

Ms McBRIDE (Dobell) (14:53): My question is to the Prime Minister. We are now in the fifth year of this Prime Minister's mismanagement of the NBN. Is the Prime Minister aware that students at the Central Coast Rudolf Steiner School in Fountaindale can't connect to the NBN, even though Fountaindale has supposedly had the NBN since September last year? What sort of incompetence means that the cemetery behind the school has an NBN connection but the school doesn't? [my yellow highlighting]

Mr TURNBULL (Wentworth—Prime Minister) (14:54): I thank the honourable member for her question. I'm certainly happy, if she's able to raise the specific customer's details with me, to make sure it goes to the minister and to NBN Co. What I can say, if honourable members care to pay attention to the NBN's weekly rollout report, which I do—an example of transparency on the part of my government which had no counterpart under the Labor Party, I might say—is that every week the numbers go up, and there are currently over six million premises that are able to connect, and just under three million have services that are connected. So the rollout is going at great pace, and I'm sure the matter that the honourable member has raised will be able to be dealt with.

Yamba still in the NBN twilight zone

Akamai 2016 State of the Internet

The National Broadband Network (nbn) was established on 9 April 2009 to design, build and operate Australia's new broadband network.

By June 2017 it should reach the halfway mark in its build.

The cost of this national network is expected to reach $29.5 billion before the end of 2017 and require an est. $20 billion more to complete.

In 2011 58% of homes in the Clarence Valley local government area and 55% of homes in Yamba had a broadband internet connection.

The official population of Yamba as of the 30th June 2015 was 6,344 and this roughly doubles during peak holiday seasons.

By now over 1,744 homes are without decent upload/download speeds for their existing Internet connections - as well all the businesses internet connections in the two shopping/accommodation/dining precincts and small industrial area in this popular tourist destination.

Yet the given date for commencement of the rollout and current rate of progress, NBN connection for this town is still years away.

In fact, if the completion date of 2020 holds then Yamba is well and truly near the end of the queue.

National Broadband Network status for Yamba NSW 2464:

The rollout of the nbn™ network is planned in this area

Planned availability: Jan-Jun 2019*.

*This is an estimate and could change.

*The speeds actually experienced by end-users via fibre, fixed wireless or satellite will depend on a number of factors including the retail broadband plan they choose, their equipment and their in premises connection.

Given the way the build has been managed so far the extra money may run out before the NBN reaches Yamba and the town may yet have to buy shares in tin cans and string to compensate for the erratic performance of current Internet connections.

NBN roll out is still a dog's breakfast

Tasmanian Times on 5 February 2017 reminding Australia that the National Broadband Network (NBN) roll out is still a dog’s breakfast:

Letter to the Editor on the NBN

Alex Ratkai
05.02.17 6:45 am

We (in part of Nobelius Drive) have been experiencing constant loss of internet services since November 2015. When it is working, the speed is slower than cable internet- often taking between 10 and 30 minutes to view my mail, though we have high speed ADSL. Last July we received communication that the NBN was now available in Nobelius Drive. There was a Telstra truck parked near the shopping centre in Legana. With joy, I immediately went and signed up, with the promise that the NBN will be connected within a couple of weeks. In a couple of weeks’ time we received a call that part of our street wasn’t being connected, including us. I asked why and also for an indication of a time frame within which we may get it, asking whether it is weeks, months or years. Absolutely no commitment has been given. I was told that the local Telstra substation cannot handle the increased telephone and internet volumes and they aren’t able to do anything. They promised a fast internet service, when I signed up, delivering it for only a few years. Now we are left with no internet service often also an extremely poor or failing telephone service. We are in despair and no one seems to want to help. We live in an advanced country with a third world telephone and internet service. Is that what our country is to look forward to???
Help, someone help.

One petition signature every 3.5 seconds. Are you listening Malcolm Turnbull? We want Labor's NBN!

Computerworld 11 September 2013:

An internet petition set up by a Liberal-voting student to save Labor's national broadband network (NBN) has become Australia's largest ever online petition.

The internet appeal is roaring along, but still has some way to go before becoming Australia's largest ever petition, which was submitted to federal parliament with 792,985 signatures in 2000 calling for an end to rising beer prices.

The NBN petition calls on the incoming coalition government to scrap its plans to create a fibre-to-the-node (FTTN) network in place of Labor's existing fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) approach.

Created by Queenslander Nick Paine on Change.org less than five days ago, the petition overtook Australia's previous biggest online petition just after 11am (AEST) on Wednesday with 116,281 signatures. The prior one had 116,280 names.

That's one signature every 3.5 seconds.

The former frontrunner was a campaign to pressure advertisers to boycott radio shock jock Alan Jones in 2012 after he said former PM Julia Gillard's father "died of shame".

Mr Paine, 20, is a supporter of the coalition, but says no party is perfect.

"I personally just don't believe their policy reflects the best option for Australia and I don't think it reflects in general the majority of Australians' views," he said.

"There's no reason to just sit back and see what happens, you've got to try it out and stand up for what you believe in."

Mr Paine said it was the first online petition he's started.

The petition can be signed at change.org/nbn -- or share it on Facebook by clicking here.

Australian Prime Minster Malcolm Turnbull's NBN Broadband: Noely tells it like it is

Excerpt from My Broadband v Reality, Punters don’t know any better and that is just the way PM Turnbull likes it, 14 January 2016…….

For those of you who think the NBN has nothing to do with you, think about these scenarios:

How will you feel in years to come when your investment property is not valued as highly as similar properties in the neighbourhood just because punters finally wised up to the fact that they need to rent/buy a property that had fast, stable internet access and sadly due to circumstances beyond your control, you got the Thunderbox version of the NBN instead of the Indoor Throne like the other homes - there goes the extra for your pension?

How will you feel watching your child wait in emergency at the rural hospital for the specialist in the closest capital city to look at the scans and advise the local doctors what to do? Waiting, waiting, waiting... Not because the specialist is not around, but because the scans have failed to send over the line a few times because the weather is really bad? I have been in this scenario and don’t wish it upon any parent, ever!

How will you feel watching your oldest child stress over their final assignment drafts they are trying to email their teacher, that has to be received by said teacher by that particular date or they will lose points on the assignment, but, gee, the net is playing silly buggers and email with attachment (ie the assignment) keeps stalling? It’s only your child’s future at stake?

Your second child has just turned two and you really want to get back into the workforce (and your mortgage needs it), of course jobs are scarce, so you decide, well, Government is offering initiatives to set up home-based business, I’ll do that. Just a bit of a bugger that you didn’t realise you would need decent internet speeds & bandwidth to even access those fancy Government sites telling you of incentives; communicating with your clients online; doing your BAS & tax, the list goes on... Of course when you hit up your provider for better access, they tell you that it will either cost you a squillion – which makes your home business untenable – or sorry lady, just bad luck you live in an area that hasn’t been upgraded, yet, and well, ummm sorry, we don’t have you on our future plan at the moment either, maybe in a few years we can help you?

There are many scenarios like the above, they are real life results of the NBN being decimated. Next time you hear someone say something along the lines of “Who cares about internet access, just so a few youngsters can stream movies”, tell them NO and give them a REAL life scenario to ponder.

Australian Minister for Communications and longstanding member of the far-right pressure group the Institute of Public Affairs (IPA) is up in arms because Telecommunication Industry Ombudsman tells some home truths

On Tuesday 17 April the Telecommunication Industry Ombudsman (TIO) sent out the media release in this post.

That same day the Australian Minister for Communications and longstanding member of the far-right pressure group the Institute of Public Affairs (IPA), Liberal Senator for Victoria Mitch Fifield, came out fighting after the TIO report showed: complaints about services delivered over the NBN surged by 204% in the second half of 2017, compared with the same period a year earlier…. Fifield said the way the information regarding the 22,827 complaints about services delivered over the NBN was presented in the TIO report, released Tuesday, “could give the impression that responsibility for this figure rests with NBN Co”.

It looks suspiciously like the Minister is now approaching a scheduled review of telecommunications consumer protections and the complaints process with a view to quash an inconvenient truth –  that transfers to the version of the National Broadband Network (NBN) cobbled together by Tony Abbott and MalcolmTurnbull are a dismal failure for far too many Australian businesses and households.

Telecommunication Industry Ombudsman (TIO), media release, 17 April 2018:

Report highlights increase in complaints about landline, mobile and internet services

Australian residential consumers and small businesses made 84,914 complaints to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman in the last six months of 2017 (1 July 2017 to 31 December 2017). In this period, complaints about landline, mobile and internet services, increased by 28.7 per cent compared to the same six month period in 2016.

Publishing the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman’s Six Monthly Update today (Tuesday 17 April, 2018), Ombudsman Judi Jones said “The telecommunications industry in Australia continues to experience significant change. An increasing range of products and services are being offered to consumers, expectations for the quality of phone and internet services are high, and the rollout of the National Broadband Network is changing the way we use telecommunications services.

“However, consumers still seem to be facing the same problems, particularly with their bills and the customer service they receive. Confidence in services being updated or transferred reliably, faulty equipment, and poor service quality were also recorded as key issues. Additionally, the wider issues relating to phone or internet problems such as debt management are concerning.”

Jones added, “Complaints about services delivered over the National Broadband Network continued to increase compared to the same six month period in 2016. This indicates the consumer experience is still not meeting expectations for all. Recent changes to regulation and an increase in our powers to resolve complaints are positive steps that will help improve the consumer experience.”

Highlights for the period 1 July 2017 to 31 December 2017 include:

* 84,914 total complaints were received

* 74,729 complaints (88 per cent) were from residential consumers

* 9,947 complaints (11.7 per cent) were from small businesses

Landline, mobile, internet, multiple services and property

Complaints for the period increased 28.7 per cent compared to the same six month period in 2016.

* 9,447 complaints (11.1 per cent) were recorded about landline phone services

* 24,923 complaints (29.4 per cent) were recorded about mobile phone services

* 23,785 complaints (28 per cent) were recorded about internet services

* 26,112 complaints (30.8 per cent) were recorded about multiple services*

* 647 complaints (0.8 per cent) were recorded about property*

* Charges and fees, unsatisfactory response from the provider (provider response), and poor service quality were the most common issues.

Small Businesses

Between 1 July and 31 December 2017 complaints from small businesses increased 15.6 per cent to 9,947 compared to the same period in 2016.

* Complaints from Small Businesses accounted for 11.7 per cent of total complaints for the period

* 2,178 complaints (21.9 per cent) were recorded about landline phone services

* 2,074 complaints (20.9 per cent) were recorded about mobile phone services

* 1,716 complaints (17.3 per cent) were recorded about internet services

* 3,937 complaints (39.6 per cent) were recorded about multiple services*

* 42 complaints (0.4 per cent) were recorded about property

*       The main issues affecting small businesses were charges and fees, unsatisfactory response from the provider (provider response), and no service.

Complaints by State

All states and territories in Australia saw a growth in complaints in the last six months of 2017 compared to the same period in 2016.

Queensland recorded the highest growth in complaints, an increase of 39.3 per cent, followed by Western Australia with 36.5 per cent.

Complaints by state (in alphabetical order) are as follows:

* Australian Capital Territory made 1,184 complaints, an increase of 11 per cent

* New South Wales made 26,914 complaints, an increase of 27.9 per cent

* Northern Territory made 504 complaints, an increase of 20 per cent

* Queensland made 16,418 complaints, an increase of 39.3 per cent

* South Australia made 6,552 complaints, an increase of 22.7 per cent

* Tasmania made 1,614 complaints, an increase of 33.1 per cent

* Victoria made 23,954 complaints, an increase of 30.5 per cent

* Western Australia made 7,381 complaints, an increase of 36.5 per cent

* The main issues affecting Australian states and territories were charges and fees, unsatisfactory response from the provider (provider response), and poor service quality

Services delivered over the National Broadband Network

Complaints about services delivered over the National Broadband Network increased 203.9 per cent to 22,827 on the same period in 2016.

* 14,055 complaints were recorded about service quality

* 8,757 complaints were recorded about delays in establishing a connection

*       The main issues affecting residential consumers and small businesses were unsatisfactory response from the provider (provider response), poor service quality, and connecting a service (connection/changing provider)

NOTES TO EDITORS

*From 1 July 2017, the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman changed the recording of complaints. There are now five complaint service categories: landline phone services, mobile phone services, internet services, multiple services (where the consumer is complaining about more than one phone or internet issue), or a complaint about damage or access to property. The changes mean data will more accurately reflect the description of complaints given by residential consumers and small businesses.  The changes also make it easier to see the issues facing the telecommunication industry, helping providers improve the delivery of phone and internet services. Trend analysis will build over time from the start of this reporting period.

Malcolm Bligh Turnbull gets caught out by The Register

Here’s Richard Chirgwin (and that’s a sound Cornish-Australian name if I’m not mistaken) on the 16^th June 2011 in The Register:
“The opposition spokesperson for communications in Australia, Malcolm Turnbull, has delivered a damning blow to the government’s plans for a National Broadband Network (NBN), citing international data to show declining demand for services at 100 Mbps.Since the NBN’s business plan assumes a fairly strong takeup of 100 Mbps services, a lack of demand at that speed pots the network’s underlying assumptions into the corner pocket……Yep, data like that is a real problem.
Because it’s incomplete – and its incompleteness is its downfall. Because I’m a data geek – in another orbit, I’m an analyst specializing in telecoms – something didn’t ring true, so I decided to go looking.
South Korea doesn’t just have one fixed broadband carrier; it has three. KT, whose data Turnbull cites, along with LG U+ and SK Broadband. LG U+ offers 100 Mbps both on its hybrid fibre-coax (HFC) network and under the “optical LAN” brand, while SK Broadband identifies its services as “Fibre LAN” in its financial reports.
You can tell what’s coming, can’t you? The 100 Mbps market in South Korea isn’t declining: it’s booming. A country that also offers a fair number of wireless broadband services is still adding new fast fixed broadband users at an impressive rate.”
Now Chiggers attributes Turnbull’s error to an honest mistake. I think he’s being overgenerous.

Rest of the article at Well, that about wraps it up for the NBN: Stop looking at South Korea, says Turnbull

How fast will your Gillard Government NBN fibre to the premises connection be when compared with the Abbott-Turnbull fibre to the street scheme? Find our here

Go to http://howfastisthenbn.com.au/ and run the test yourself. 

Labor's NBN uploads and downloads can happen in seconds. Coalition's NBN is going to be excruciatingly slow in comparison.

NBN: What Tony Abbott's digital illiteracy means for rural and regional Australia

http://youtu.be/MkHtCqchV7Y

Australian Minister for Communications Malcolm Bligh Turnbull, the man Prime Minister Abbott insisted (in a breathtaking display of digital ignorance) virtually invented the Internet, has ground the National Broadband Network rollout to a halt.

Leaving rural and regional Australia, its communities and businesses, on the other side of an ever-widening digital divide.

Financial Review 31 October 2013:

Construction firms building the national broadband network have told sub-contractors they will have to wait up to five months before receiving more work, as the rollout of fibre optic cabling grinds to a halt.

NBN Co revealed that in October a 10th of its standard workload was carried out. Small work crews physically rolling out fibre cabling along streets and into homes say they will need to cut dozens of staff if there is no further work.

Figures released on Wednesday indicated fewer than 2000 homes and businesses were passed with fibre during October, compared with 28,000 in September.

The company managing the rollout revealed on Tuesday that just a third of the more than 900,000 homes it planned to pass with fibre over the next 12 months would finish construction. It would not issue contracts to construct the remaining 600,000 existing premises where network build had not yet begun, prompting criticisms from Labor and community groups....

Rather predictably Nationals MP for Cowper and Assistant Minister for Employment, Luke Hartsuyker, is attempting to deny reality - blaming the former Labor government for what the Abbott Government is doing.

According to him; "The Coalition is committed to being honest with Australians about the NBN rollout. We will implement the policy that we took to the election." [The Daily Examiner,1 November 2013,p3]

In March 2013 Hartsuyker stated on his own website that; Up to two million Australian households cannot get decent fixed-line high speed broadband...Regional Australia stands to benefit more than most from the rollout of high speed broadband...The Coalition’s broadband policy will put a priority on rolling out high speed broadband to those communities where it is needed most... 

Eliminating over half a million homes/businesses across the country from the fibre-to-the-premises high speed broadband connection rollout, with no indication if they will be included in any rollout of fibre-to-the-node, does not appear to be meeting the election promises made by the Nationals to NSW North Coast voters.

In the Clarence Valley alone, an estimated 51,346 men, women and children in 23,873 homes now have no idea if or when the National Broadband Network will reach them.

Nationals MP for Page, Kevin Hogan, is yet to make comment.

Abbott's Army blots its copybook yet again

If this is what the Liberal Party parliamentary machine is like in Opposition, then heaven help us if it wins government on 7 September 2013.

Email transcript found at Stevej on NBN:

From: stephen.ellis.aph@gmail.com

Steve,

I mark your emails 'junk' (like your copy) so didn't see your note until Grahame replied.

Nobody challenges your numbers because nobody takes your psychotic rantings seriously.  Nobody. Nevertheless they are all wrong.  All of them - you don't have a clue about the existing deal, much less how it might be modified.  Given what you write is a delusional fantasy that exists only in your own mind, you can get fucked.

Since the NBN stands to be greatly modified under whoever wins, your serial lies and distortions will be exposed in due course.  In the meantime do not contact me again.

Have a nice life.

--
Stephen Ellis / +61 403 411 898

The Guardian UK 7 August 2013:  

Malcolm Turnbull has expressed "regret" after one of his senior staffers sent an email to a popular technology blogger that told him to "get fucked".

Stephen Ellis, a policy adviser for Turnbull, told Steve Jenkin, who publishes a blog called Steviej on NBN, in an email that "no one takes your psychotic rantings seriously. Nobody."

Ellis added: "Given what you write is a delusional fantasy that exists only in your own mind, you can get fucked."

In a blogpost detailing the exchange, Jenkin said he had been seeking information from Ellis on the wholesale costs associated with the Coalition's alternative National Broadband Network…...

Well hoorah, NBN Co is to roll out its inbuilt obsolescence across Yamba commencing in June 2018

It has been reported in local media that NBN Co will be commencing the Yamba rollout of its allegedly high speed broadband in June 2018, with Maclean and Grafton rollouts to commence in January 2019.

This news is quite frankly underwhelming.

Whatever information NBN Co was giving out obviously didn’t include the type of connection that was on offer, as this important point was not mentioned by journalists and there is contradictory information on the company's website.

These three urban areas in the Clarence Valley are yet to hear if households and businesses are being offered fibre-to-the-curb, fibre-to-the-node or fixed wireless.

Because it is certain that the best option fibre-to-the-premises isn’t on offer to regional second cousins of the big metropolitan areas.

Personally I will carefully refuse to look at any construction works taking place in Yamba come June, July and August.

The sight of all those water-filled trenches will be too depressing.

Who starts extensive in-ground construction in winter at the low-lying, high water table mouth of a floodplain, I ask you?

* Image from Hakuri Sad Party

NBN Coffs Harbour in hot water over biased Pacific Highway news report

27 September 2012

Nine breached accuracy and fairness code in Pacific Highway news report

The Australian Communications and Media Authority has found that Nine Network station NBN Ltd breached the accuracy and fairness provisions of the Commercial Television Industry Code of Practice 2010 in a broadcast of NBN News on 19 January 2012.
The breaches occurred in a news item called ‘Fatal diversion’. It reported that the Federal Government had diverted funds from the Pacific Highway to the Oxley Highway, when in fact the proposed diversion of funds was from one section of the Pacific Highway to another.
The ACMA also found that the item did not present the news fairly and impartially in relation to Anthony Albanese, the Federal Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, or Rob Oakeshott, the Federal Member for Lyne.
Nine has apologised to Minister Albanese and, in response to the ACMA investigation and following discussions with Nine Network management, it has taken the following remedial actions:

• removed the item from the licensee’s website
• cautioned and provided training to relevant Nine staff
• written to Mr Oakeshott, acknowledging his concerns and the errors in the broadcast.

In addition, Nine has agreed to post a statement on its website acknowledging the findings and giving a link to the ACMA’s investigation report.
Investigation Report 2789 is available on the ACMA website.
For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact: Blake Murdoch on (02) 9334 7817, 0411 504 687 or media@acma.gov.au.

Mayor circles wagons around 2013 Clarence Valley Ambassador Wal King

Clarence Valley Council’s choice of honorary Clarence Valley Ambassador 2013 has become somewhat problematic and, Mayor Williamson clings to an assurance from an unidentified source that the Australian Securities and Investment Commission is unaware of any new incidents. However, the Commission is not responsible for investigating recent allegations.

The situation so far.......

Honorary Doctor of Science (UNSW) Wallace Macarthur King AO retires as Leighton Holdings CEO on 31 December 2010.

On 1 January 2011 he became a consultant to Leighton Holdings.

Between 1998-9 and 2007-8 companies within the Leighton Group donate a total of 838,000 to the Federal Liberal and National parties and, a total of $643,400 to Federal Labor between 1998-9 and 2009-10.

Clarence Valley Council media release 1 August 2013:

This year Mayor Richie Williamson bestowed the Honour of Clarence Valley Ambassador on Wal King.

“Wal King grew up on a dairy farm in Copmanhurst, went to Grafton High School and eventually became CEO of Leighton Holdings.” said Mayor Richie Williamson

In receiving the honour Wal King said “I’ve always had a belief that if you remain true to your values and have the right people you will get your results. That’s something I’ve applied all the way  through my career and I’m still of the view that you need to set a framework for people. ”

Mayor Richie went on to state “Wal has a long list of achievements and one benefit of the Ambassador Award is to show the Clarence’s talented young people that dedication and hardwork opens up opportunities for everyone”....

Mayor Richie Williamson with Clarence Valley Ambassador Wal King

Clarence Valley Review 7 August 2013

Australian Financial Review 26 September 2013:

Former Leighton Holdings chief executive Wal King has been approached by Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull about joining the Coalition’s NBN Co board.

The approach is understood to have been made before the federal election.

Mr Turnbull is looking for board members with experience rolling out construction projects and telecommunications infrastructure.

The Sydney Morning Herald 3 October 2013:

Corruption and cover-ups in Leighton Holdings' international construction empire were rife and known to top company executives and directors, according to internal company files.

Those in the know included the Australian construction giant's chief executive at the time, Wal King, and his short-term successor David Stewart.

In revelations that will cause international embarrassment for Australia and raise questions about the role of the nation's corporate watchdog, the files expose plans to pay alleged multimillion-dollar kickbacks in Iraq, Indonesia, Malaysia and elsewhere, along with other serious corporate misconduct....

The Sydney Morning Herald 4 October 2013:

A Fairfax Media investigation can also reveal a small number of senior Leighton staff were so concerned by a $6 million consultancy awarded to Mr King upon his 2011 departure that external legal advice was sought to determine if it might have breached Australian corporate laws that apply to retirement benefits.

The legal advice was sought in July 2011 after it was discovered that the terms of the consultancy agreement organised before Mr King's departure meant he would be able to invoice Leighton for $6 million in fees over three years without having to provide any services.

The Australian 4 October 2013:

FORMER Leighton Holdings chief executive Wal King has written to Fairfax Media to demand it publishes page one apologies across The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and The Australian Financial Review, to mitigate damages for reports alleging Mr King approved the payment of a bribe in a deal in Iraq.

The letter from Mr King's lawyers Atanaskovic Hartnell is the first formal response by the high-profile executive to the string of articles published by Fairfax yesterday and today.

Fairfax reported yesterday that it had obtained hundreds of confidential Leighton documents, including a handwritten note allegedly written by then-acting chief executive David Stewart in November 2010 that in turn alleged his predecessor Mr King had approved $42 million in kickbacks to a firm in Monaco nominated by Iraqi officials for a $750m oil pipeline contract.....

The matters are being currently investigated by the Australian Federal Police, which negates the need for any ASIC action at this stage.

The Australian 4 October 2013:

Mr King yesterday conceded that reports published by Fairfax Media that bribery, corruption and cover-ups at the company's international empire were known to Mr King and others -- claims he denied -- had damaged his chances of an NBN Co board position. "I don't think the NBN is going to happen now, do you?" Mr King said.

The Daily Examiner Page Three 4 October 2013:

Speaking yesterday, Cr Williamson said as yet there was no impact on Mr King's role as ambassador.

"I've just heard that the Australian Securities and Investments Commission is unaware of any new incidents or instances, so at this stage there is no change in plans at all," he said.

Herald Sun 5 October 2013:

Leighton says it is cooperating with Federal Police who are investigating the matter.

The corporate watchdog, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, has said it was not responsible for investigating the claims.

UPDATE

The Sydney Morning Herald 10 October 2013:

As the bribery scandal engulfing construction firm Leighton Holdings continues, it can be revealed that a public inquiry previously found former executive Wal King was not of good repute, ''having regard to character, honesty and integrity''.

In 1994 Leighton Holdings had joined forces with US gambling firm Showboat to win the tender for the new Sydney casino. But a public inquiry into the probity of the Showboat group proved damaging for Mr King, who was found not to be of good repute. Two Leighton companies were also found to be ''not of good repute, having regard to honesty and integrity''.

The final report of the NSW government's Casino Control Authority Inquiry has been obtained by Fairfax Media. The inquiry was headed by Murray Tobias, QC.

The inquiry found Mr King and fellow Leighton executive Vyril Vella ''were involved with and had knowledge of'' the illegal practice of paying unsuccessful tender fees. This involved collusion between construction companies so winning tenders paid fees to the losers. These payments were then billed to the client with false invoices.

In his final report, Mr Tobias said he was ''not entirely satisfied that he [Mr King] accepts even now that the practice of false invoices was dishonest''.

Mr Tobias also referred to cross-examination of Mr King during the course of the inquiry. Referring to false invoices, Mr King was asked: ''And a fair-minded observer may take the view that you were doing it that way in order to hide something that you regarded as wrong?''

Mr King replied: ''Well, with the benefit of hindsight, that interpretation can be put upon it, and I accept that as maybe one interpretation.''

He also concluded Mr King ''did not, apparently, have the strength of character to identify the problem at an earlier point of time''.

Nor did Mr King concede it was dishonest of Leighton Contractors to falsify company records. Instead, the Leighton chief observed there was ''a body of opinion out there that says it's shady''.....

Oi, Malcolm! Where's our NBN?

With only three years of borrowed money left to complete roll out of the National Broadband Network (NBN) and still not yet at the halfway mark, serious questions about this increasingly sub-standard telecommunications infrastructure are being asked.

Australian Medical Association, media release, 17 January 2017:

Better Access to High Speed Broadband for Rural and Remote Health Care - 2016

1

10 Jan 2017

---

1.  Introduction

Approximately 30 per cent of Australia’s population lives outside the major metropolitan areas[1]. Regional, rural and remote Australians often struggle to access health services that urban Australians would see as a basic right. These inequalities mean that they have lower life expectancy, worse outcomes on leading indicators of health, and poorer access to care compared to people in major cities.

In 2016 the AMA conducted a Rural Health Issues Survey, which sought input from rural doctors across Australia to identify key solutions to improving regional, rural and remote health care. The survey identified access to high-speed broadband for medical practices as a key priority.

This result reflects not only the increasing reliance by medical practices on the internet for their day to day operations, but also the increasing opportunities for the provision of healthcare services to rural and remote communities via eHealth and telemedicine. For the full potential of these opportunities to be realised, good quality, affordable, and reliable high-speed internet access is essential.

The AMA recognises that technology-based patient consultations and other telehealth initiatives can improve access to care and can enhance efficiency in medical practice, but the need for better access to high speed broadband goes beyond supporting rural and remote health. In today’s world, it is a critical factor to support communities in their daily activities, education, and business, and has the potential to drive innovation and boost the rural economy.

This position statement outlines the importance of better access to high speed broadband for medical practices, other healthcare providers and institutions, and patients, to improve regional, rural and remote health care in Australia, and highlights key solutions for achieving this.

2. Internet access in regional rural and remote Australia

Despite its tremendous growth, internet access is not distributed equally within Australia, and internet use by country people has yet to reach the level of use in capital cities, for a wide range of reasons.

In many country areas the internet connection is still very poor.^[2] In 2015, 80 percent of non-urban Australians had an internet connection at home compared with 89 percent of those in capital cities^[3]. Internet use via mobile phone was much lower in non-urban areas, at 37 percent, compared to 60 percent for capital cities^[4]. This reflects the patchy, unreliable or absent mobile coverage in many rural and remote areas. While mobile broadband use was highest in non-urban areas, at 29 percent, compared to 25 percent in capital cities, mobile broadband is currently not a good solution for business or eHealth, due to the relatively small amounts of data on the relatively costly plans available.

Internet services, particularly in more isolated areas, only make available relatively small download allowances and these come at a much higher cost and slower speed than those services available in metropolitan areas.

3. Supporting regional rural and remote health

3.1   The need for better access for health services

The health sector needs telecommunications connectivity for health service delivery and management, doing business with Government and complying with Government requirements, continuing professional development, online education, mentoring, and clinical decision and other support.

Health was identified in the Regional Telecommunications Review report[5] as one of the particular segments of the community requiring special consideration. To effectively leverage telecommunications technology to deliver better health outcomes at lower cost in regional, rural and remote areas and to implement new models of health care, both mobile and broadband technology must be reliable, affordable, and supply adequate capacity.

However, the utilisation of telehealth and telemedicine in rural and remote Australia remains patchy and is not used to full potential, because of no, or inadequate internet access. As noted in the Regional Telecommunications Review report[6], the ability of hospitals and clinics to support remotely located clinicians and patients via video conferencing and remote monitoring could be severely limited in areas serviced by satellite, which may not be able to consistently and reliably deliver the necessary capacity and technical capability.

The AMA Rural Health Issues Survey received many comments from rural doctors on the problems encountered with poor internet access. For example:

• High-speed broadband [is the] single most critical issue to run practices now, many areas not getting the best from NBN.
• Internet services by satellite are slow and time consuming. Reliable internet services at reasonable speed and reliability is critical.
• Internet services are a critical area [of concern]. The NBN has been deficient in providing a comprehensive coverage even in areas that are under 25km from a major regional centre i.e. Orange and Dubbo. 

As mainstream healthcare provision becomes increasingly technology based and requires more and faster broadband services to operate, there is a real risk that regional, rural and remote areas of Australia will be left further and further behind in their ability to provide quality health services.

3.2. The benefits of high speed broadband for rural and remote health care

High-speed affordable broadband connectivity to the Internet has become essential to modern society, and offers widely recognised economic and social benefits, with numerous studies showing a strong link between broadband growth and rapid economic development^[7]. Affordable and reliable broadband access can support the development of new content, applications and services that allow people to work in new ways, changing business processes in ways that stimulate productivity and potentially increase labour-force participation^[8].

3.2.1  Economic benefits

It has been estimated that in New Zealand, the benefits from broadband-enabled health care could reach around $6 billion over a 20-year period^[9]. These benefits come from reduced hospital, travel and drug costs and improvements in care. A case study by Deloitte Access Economics shows savings to a single older Australian of $7,400 per year, with savings to the Government, through reduced health and service provision costs, of over $14,500^[10].

3.2.2 Driving greater efficiency and reducing costs

Telehealth practice will be one of the most important online services in the broadband future, enabling significant changes to work practices to drive greater efficiency and reduce costs^[11].

If sufficiently supported, telehealth services, such as video-conferencing, could become more effective in complementing local health services. They could be used to expand specialty care to patients in areas with shortages of health care providers as well as extend primary care to remote areas, reducing the need to travel, and increasing the frequency of patient and primary care provider interactions. By providing timely access to services and specialists, telehealth could improve the ability to identify developing conditions, and thereby reduce the need for more costly treatments and hospitalisations in the future. Telehealth could also help to educate, train and support remote healthcare workers on location and support people with chronic conditions to manage their health.^[12]

A CSIRO report on home monitoring of chronic disease[13], for example, shows that a modest investment in home monitoring technology, allied to risk stratification tools and remote monitoring, could save the healthcare system up to $3 billion a year in avoidable admissions to hospital, reduced length of stay and fewer demands on primary care.

3.2.3 Supporting eHealth solutions now and into the future

eHealth encompasses patient access to doctors via online consultation, remote patient monitoring, online tools and resources for patients and doctors, clinical communications between healthcare providers, and professional’s access to information databases and electronic health record systems. If sufficiently supported with affordable, high-speed broadband services, eHealth has potential to improve health outcomes at all levels, from preventative health, specialist and acute care and self-management of chronic conditions, through to home monitoring for people living with disabilities[14].

Advances in information technology will act as a catalyst for the development of a range of potential eHealth solutions to some of the challenges faced by rural and remote communities. If available and accessible, improved connectivity will facilitate new and emerging best practice models of health care, such as those which incorporate high definition video conferences, data exchange and high resolution image transfer[15].

Technological advancements in health care that could become the way of the future, if affordable and sufficient access to broadband services becomes available, include better point of care diagnostics, resulting in faster, cohesive patient care; biosensors and trackers to allow real time monitoring; 3D printed medical technology products; virtual reality environments that could accelerate behavioural change in patients; and social media platforms to improve patient experience and track population trends^[16].

3.2.4 Supporting education and training

The internet also plays a big part in the lives of doctors and their families, assisting with education and social cohesion. It enables rural doctors to learn from the most current resources, explore treatment options, watch demonstrations of procedures and attend live discussions with experts.

Access to high speed broadband has the potential to change the way medical education, training and supervision is delivered in rural and remote areas [17]. As pressure on access to prevocational and vocational training places increases, harnessing this technology to support training is a viable strategy to create additional training places in rural and remote locations and ultimately improve access to specialist services for rural and remote patients.

The use of telehealth and telesupervision as an adjunct to face-to-face teaching will allow doctors in training to remain in rural and remote settings to complete their training, and enhance the likelihood that they will choose to work long term in a rural areas. Improved information and communications technology will enhance the learning experiences for trainees at rural sites and during rural rotations, provide exposure to innovative models of care, and improve supervisor capacity by allowing supervisors to transfer knowledge, supervise and mentor trainees remotely. 

Improved telehealth and communication technology infrastructure to support teaching and training at rural sites will also enhance professional collaboration between rural and remote medical generalist practitioners and other specialists in the provision of shared care, skills transfer and education.

The requirement for doctors to maintain their skills is a fundamental component of medical registration. It is important that processes mandated by the Medical Board of Australia, including in revalidation proposals, do not discriminate against medical practitioners working in rural and remote Australia. Access to high speed broadband is an essential support for rural and remote practitioners who must comply with these requirements.

4. What can be done to improve broadband access for country Australians?

The AMA is of the view that high-speed broadband should be available to the same standard and at the same cost to all communities, businesses and services across the whole of Australia. The platforms used must be able to accommodate future developments in information and communications technologies and provide connectivity through suitable combinations of fibre, mobile phone, wireless, and satellite technologies. For rural practices, in order to be incorporated routinely in everyday practice (clinical, educational and administrative), network connectivity must be sufficient, reliable, ubiquitous and dependable.

The Government must ensure that broadband services are affordable in regional, rural and remote Australia. Lack of affordability is regarded as one of the most important barriers to good internet access for country people whose incomes, on average, are 15 per cent lower than those of city people[18].

Government policies play a tremendous role in bringing internet access to underserved groups and regions. Unless issues around equitable and affordable access to telecommunications in regional, rural and remote Australia are addressed, the potential benefits of the digital economy for non-urban Australians will go unrealised.

The AMA urges the Government to consider the following actions:

·       Fully consider the recommendations of the 2015 Regional Telecommunications Review, and, in particular, adopt Recommendations 8, 9, and 12, to:

o    Develop a new Consumer Communication Standard for voice and data which would provide technology neutral standards in terms of availability, accessibility, affordability, performance and reliability.

o    Establish a new funding mechanism, the Consumer Communication Fund to replace the existing telecommunications industry levy and underwrite over the longer term, necessary loss-making infrastructure and services in regional Australia.

o    Collect benchmark data on availability and affordability of broadband data and voice services (including mobile services), to be reported annually, in order to improve the understanding of the changing circumstances of regional telecommunications.

·       Extend the boundaries of the NBN’s fibre cable and fixed wireless footprints and mobile coverage wherever possible.

·       Begin an incremental process of terrestrial network expansion over the longer term to address increase in usage over time.

·       Develop measures to prioritise or optimise the broadband capacity available by satellite for hospitals and medical practices, such as exempting or allocating higher data allowance quotas, or providing a separate data allowance (as is the case with distance education[19]).

·       Create universal unmetered online access to government, hospital and health services for people and businesses in rural and remote areas.^[20]

·       Establish an innovation budget for development of local infrastructure solutions for rural and remote areas.^[21]

·       Engage with state and local government and related stakeholders who wish to co-invest or coordinate planning to achieve the optimum overall infrastructure outcome for their area. This could involve public-private partnerships or the leveraging of philanthropic infrastructure funding through, for example, tax concessions.

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^[1] Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) (2015), Australia’s Welfare 2015

^{[2] Curtin J (2012), A digital divide in regional and rural Australia.}

^[3] Australian Communications and Media Authority (2016), Regional Australians Online

^[4] Ibid

^[5] Australian Government Regional Telecommunications Review (2015)

^[6] Ibid.

^[7] Alcatel-Lucent (2012), Building the Benefits of Broadband. How New Zealand can increase the social & economic impacts of high-speed broadband

^[8] Centre for Energy-efficient Telecommunications (CEET)(2015), Economic Benefit of the National Broadband Network

^[9] Alcatel-Lucent (2012), op.cit.

^[10] Deloitte Access Economics (2013), Benefits of High-Speed Broadband for Australian Households. Commissioned by the Australian Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy

^[11] CEET (2015), op.cit.

^[12] National Rural Health Alliance (2013), eHealth and telehealth in rural and remote Australia. Accessed October 2016

^[13] Prof. Branko Celler et al (2016), Home Monitoring of Chronic Disease for Aged Care, CSIRO Australian e-Health Research Centre.

^[14] National Rural Health Alliance (2013) op. cit.

^[15] National Rural Health Alliance (2016), website accessed October 2016

^[16] Deloitte (2016), Design, service and infrastructure plan for Victoria’s rural and regional health system discussion paper, commissioned by the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services.

^[17] Wearne S M (2013), Using telehealth infrastructure for remote supervision could create medical training places where they are needed. Medical Journal of Australia, 198 (11): 633-634. 17 June 2013.

^[18] AIHW (2016), Are things different outside the major cities? Accessed October 2016.

^[19] Australian Government (2016), Australian Government Response to the Regional Telecommunications Independent Review Committee Report: Regional Telecommunications Review 2015.

^[20]Broadband for the Bush Alliance (2016), Broadband for the Bush Forum V: Digital Journeys Communiqué

^[21]Broadband for the Bush Alliance (2014), Broadband for the Bush Forum III: Building a Better Digital Future Communiqué

Related document (Public): 

 Better access to high speed broadband PS_Final.pdf