Govt chaos: Has NBN Co stopped the rollout?

Renai LeMay
Sunday, 22 August 2010 10:30

IT Policy - Government Tech Policy

The National Broadband Network Company would not confirm this morning whether it would continue to roll out optic fibre around the nation while Australia's Parliament attempts to resolve whether the Coalition or Labor would form Government.

Last night's extraordinary political events '” which resulted in a hung parliament, with neither Labor nor the Coalition able to form government immediately '” could take up to a week to resolve, according to some commentators, with the possibility that either party could take power with enough support from independent members, or even a new election.

But a NBN Co spokesperson this morning refused to confirm or deny that it would continue rolling out fibre around Australia this week as part of Labor's NBN policy, or to comment on any matter at all '” even when asked what the reaction would be if journalists were to visit the NBN's first release sites to check on progress. NBN Co is led by chief executive Mike Quigley (pictured, above).

NBN Co has been rolling out fibre to a number of early stage release sites around Australia, as well as in Tasmania '” with the development of some sites, especially in Townsville, having received significant political attention during the campaign. However, the Coalition has pledged to cancel the NBN rollout if it wins Government.

Katherine Sainty, a communications and media lawyer and director of Sainty Law, said it was appropriate for NBN Co not to comment due to the company's wholly government-owned nature.