WED 12 mar 2014
Printed on 100% recycled paper
Josh Pyke
PROUDLY INDEPENDENT
Trades & Services Need help at your place this weekend? p.38-42
Broadband limbo
Newcastle yet to see NBN progress under the Abbott Government Amelia Parrott
Lone Wolf heads to Newcastle p.25
P
Hunter Expressway set to open p.3
NRL 2014 Knights suffer injury-plagued defeat against Penrith
p.48
@amelia_parrott
arts of Newcastle are stuck in broadband limbo, with the Abbott Government failing to provide information about the rollout of the National Broadband Network (NBN), according to Shadow Minister for Communications, Jason Clare. Visiting Newcastle on Monday, Mr Clare said residents in Mayfield that had witnessed construction of Labor’s fibre to the premises system begin prior to the election had seen little progress since. “The people of Newcastle are now in limbo,” he said. “Newcastle knows that they are not going to get the first-class national broadband network, they are going to get the second-class network but they do not know when. “They don’t know when they are going to get the NBN rollout and it’s important that the Government sets the record straight and tells the people of Newcastle when they are going to get the second-rate, second-class that they’re now saying they will deliver.” Member for Newcastle, Sharon Claydon said the uncertainty was having a huge impact on local businesses. “It’s a critical issue in Newcastle because we’ve got a lot of young start-up companies and entrepreneurs who are starting to make those critical decisions about wether to stay in Newcastle to do their business or whether they are going to move outside of Newcastle or offshore,” she said. “Some people have actually made some serious
Member for Newcastle, Sharon Claydon and Shadow Minister for Communications, Jason Clare review plans for the rollout of the National Broadband Network in Mayfield business decisions based on the fact that they would have access to high-speed broadband and now that’s not going to happen they’ve got to make some serious reassessments. We are a city that is priding itself on research, development and innovation…but we’re being stymied and put at a disadvantage by not having access
to superfast broadband.” Maps published by NBN Co in May last year showed construction had begun across Mayfield, however maps on the NBN Co website currently indicate that build work is underway in Cameron Park and West Wallsend, with service available in parts of Cameron Park.
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