MEDIA RELEASE - LABOR WELCOMES ACCC REVIEW INTO NBN WHOLESALE SERVICE LEVELS - 3 NOVEMBER 2017

03 November 2017

With Stephen Jones MP, Shadow Minister for Regional Communications.

Labor welcomes moves by the ACCC to review wholesale service levels on the NBN.

This inquiry comes after repeated calls by Labor and the NBN Joint Standing Committee to strengthen wholesale service levels.

The move to examine wholesale service levels exposes the Government’s desperate attempts to create distractions and blame retailers for every issue. 

Over five years the Turnbull Government has approached consumer protection as a spectators sport. 

This lack of commitment has unnecessarily delayed outcomes for consumers. 

And despite NBN complaints to the TIO surging by 160 per cent, the Turnbull Government remains hopelessly out of touch.            

The ACCC has clearly lost patience and is stepping in to fill the void. 

Labor is firmly of the view that unless responsibility and accountability are structurally aligned consumers will continue to suffer. 

Retail providers are accountable to their customers and the TIO, yet it’s not clear who NBNCo is accountable to. 

The company tasked with deploying a flawed multi-technology mix has become a law unto itself and this is not sustainable. 

Should the ACCC process fail to achieve adequate outcomes a future Labor Government, if elected, will act. 

Consumers can count on Labor to stop the NBN ping-pong and put their needs front and centre.