MEDIA RELEASE - TURNBULL’S ‘TECHNOLOGY CHOICE’ PROGRAM IS A FARCE - 15 MARCH 2018

15 March 2018

Last night at an NBN forum with Anthony Albanese and Michelle Rowland, Labor heard more stories about Australians being let down by Malcolm Turnbull’s ‘Technology Choice’ program.

This week, more reports have emerged of consumers who are finding out the program is a farce.

Prior to the 2013 election, Turnbull assured Australians wanting to escape his second-rate NBN that they had the option to pay $3,000 to instead receive fibre.

Turnbull’s statements include:

“I think would work out at around $3,000. So it is not $5000.” 24 July 2013, Sky News

“For a customer living 500 metres from a node, for example, the charge is GBP1,500 or about $2,250.” Malcolm Turnbull’s blog post

Fact: the average quoted cost has been over $15,000 – on top of the $600 fee consumers are forced to pay for the apparent privilege of receiving a quote.

Forking out $15,000 might fly in Point Piper but it certainly doesn’t in the real world.

For all his pompous lectures on engineering, economics, innovation and agility, this Prime Minister is nothing short of a dud.