The NBN is a complex problem for the new government

So, from this personal point of view, he will have the best interest of the national broadband network at heart. However this needs to be looked at within the context of politics, and that is when most people, including myself, are more sceptical.

But all politicians have to be accountable to their voters, and this means people power. So it is also up to the people to express their opinions on all of this. The viral petition that, within days after the election, attracted close to 300,000 signatures, plus the follow-up advertising campaign, is an example of such action. And several communities affected by the government’s recent cancellation of their FttP prospects are in the process of organising meetings to decide what action they could take to secure FttP to their communities.

The latter is linked to the social and economic importance of the NBN for digital productivity, local development, healthcare, education and so on. These are factors that are still not taken into account by the government. The Minister has indicated that he likes an NBN based on FttP but believes that Australia cannot afford it. He thinks the current plan is too expensive. I would turn that around and ask what country can afford not to have FttP infrastructure. It is sad that, after all the years that have passed and the different governments that have been involved, these social and economic are issues are still not taken seriously by our political leaders.

In the end the NBN is the critical infrastructure we need for our country. Any modern digital economy requires an infrastructure that has lots of capacity; is robust, reliable and secure; has low latency; is ubiquitous; and, above all, is affordable for its users.

Any review of the cost of the NBN should be looked at in the context of Australia’s needs for its digital infrastructure future.