Labor wants to stop the Coalition from selling the NBN

Alex Choros - Managing Editor + Group Telco Editor

Last updated 09 October 2024

The Federal Government will today introduce legislation designed to keep the NBN a public utility, preventing future governments from privatising it.

In a statement co-released by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Finance Minister Katy Gallagher, and Communications Minister Michelle Rowland, the trio said the move is designed to ensure "fast, reliable, and affordable internet" is available now and in the future.

Comments made by the three point to the perceived mishandling of the NBN by the former Coalition Government.

"The Coalition rushed to declare the NBN ‘complete’ so they could put it on the block for sale – selling out Australian consumers and regional communities," said the three Ministers in the statement.

"The Albanese Government won’t let that happen. This legislation will ensure the NBN is owned by who it belongs to – the Australian people."

Albanese and Rowland added individual comments around the situation.

"The Coalition made a mess of the NBN – my Government is getting on with the job of fixing it and making sure it stays in public hands, where it belongs," said Albanese.

"Australians don’t trust the Coalition not to flog off the NBN just like they did with Telstra, resulting in higher prices and poorer services, especially in the regions," said Rowland.

The Communication Workers Union welcomed the announcement. CWU President Shane Murphy called the legislation "the right thing" to ensure NBN remains "accessible and affordable".

"More than 8.5 million homes and businesses rely on the NBN to stay connected, and if passed, this bill will ensure that Australians will not be threatened with massive price hikes and service quality deterioration that would inevitably occur should this vital piece of our nation’s public infrastructure be sold to the highest bidder," said Murphy.

No Coalition ministers have commented on the proposed legislation at the time of writing.

While the Federal Government's announcement focuses on keeping NBN affordable, recent changes to NBN Co's Special Access Undertaking (SAU) mean plans will increase in price annually. The first price rise happened in December last year, followed by another in July. Annual price rises are expected in July each year from here on out.

NBN 50 plans have been the most affected by the price increases, with plans on the speed tier now only a few dollars per month cheaper than NBN 100 plans.

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Alex Choros

Managing Editor + Group Telco Editor | X | Instagram | Threads | LinkedIn

Alex Choros is the Managing Editor of WhistleOut Australia and an award-winning journalist. He's been writing about consumer technology for over a decade and is an expert on the Australian telco sector, to the point where he knows far too many phone and internet plans by heart. In addition to leading the WhistleOut editorial team, Alex is responsible for ruining the office Sonos with his troubled taste in music.

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