We lose NBN, you lose our vote poll tells Abbott

Stan Beer
Tuesday, 03 August 2010 12:14

IT Policy - Government Tech Policy

The Liberal-National Coalition could well lose a significant proportion of the all-important swinging voters unless it modifies its plans to scrap the NBN. That appears to be the message of new poll which may be the kick in the backside that the Federal Opposition needs to perform a necessary policy backflip.

 

The Tony Abbott led Opposition has been clear about its NBN scrap plans for weeks and keeps doing well in opinion polls regardless. However, the Gillard Labour Government has run an exceptionally poor election campaign and extraordinarily still has not put the NBN front and centre, given that it is a $43 billion nation building project that will provide a massive economic stimulus, including thousands of jobs.

According to a poll from online broadband comparison site Compare Broadband, 88% of respondents said the National Broadband Network (NBN) would affect which party they voted for in the upcoming election.

The National Broadband Network could be a significant vote winner for Labor, with 62% of respondents to an online survey admitting the scheme would influence their vote in favour of the government.

When asked the question, 'Is the Liberals' plan to scrap the $43 billion NBN influencing who you vote for?' 62% of the 604 voters (an admittedly small sample) said, 'No - I disagree with the Liberals, the NBN should be kept.' 26% said, 'Yes - I agree with the Liberals, the NBN should be scrapped', while only 12% felt the issue, 'doesn't influence me either way.'

Compare Broadband's General Manager, Scott Kennedy, when asked about the poll's result, said: "The majority of our users who are everyday Australians looking for a better broadband deal clearly want a faster broadband network.

"Without getting too political, I'm surprised neither party has made this an election issue. The Liberals have stated their intention to scrap the NBN but not disclosed an alternative which, as the poll suggests, is important to voters."

The Coalition has yet to deliver a definitive broadband plan, but has held up the $43 billion project as an example of wasteful Labor spending. Shadow Communications spokesman Tony Smith has labelled the scheme "reckless and risky". The Coalition may soon come to the conclusion that sticking to that policy may instead be reckless and risky.

Recent take-up of the first NBN optical fibre rollout in Tasmania has seen 50% of customers in three towns signing up for the service, which Communications Minister Stephen Conroy claims is an endorsement for the scheme. However, Senator Conroy has also admitted that current fibre broadband prices are likely to rise in the state once the national network has been rolled out.

In an update on the NBN last week, the Prime Minister said the fibre network would be rolled out to an extra 300,000 properties, extending its reach to 93% of the population. The remaining 7% of Australians will benefit from improved wireless mobile broadband and satellite services, according to the government.