http://www.theage.com.au/federal-politics/federal-election-2013/turnbull-accuses...

Malcolm Turnbull has accused the Prime Minister of telling "shocking lies" about the Coalition's broadband policy amid a flurry of technical claims and counter-claims about each party's policy.

Mr Turnbull, the opposition's communications spokesman, jumped on comments made by Kevin Rudd in Brisbane on Tuesday morning, including that NBN connections are free and that a Coalition government would disconnect households from the NBN.

"Our new approach to the future is an NBN for the future - the other lot are saying they will disconnect the NBN," Mr Rudd said.

Later he added that "we will connect [broadband] to peoples' homes and businesses for free".

Advertisement
Mr Turnbull hit out at both claims at a press conference in Sydney on Tuesday afternoon.

"That is a lie. It is not free," Mr Turnbull said.

"If you want to be connected to Labor's NBN or any NBN, whether it's completed under a Labor government or a Coalition government, you are going to have to buy a plan from a telecommunications company - Telstra or iiNet or Optus or somebody like that. So it's not free."

Mr Turnbull said new fact-checking website, Politifact, had found "that statement, which Labor has made again and again, to be false".

However, Politifact actually checked Mr Turnbull's statements about connecting to the NBN, not Mr Rudd's.

Politifact concluded that "at the risk of getting existential, it comes down to what you think a 'connection' actually is. Turnbull is talking about getting online".

"Turnbull says 'connection to the NBN is not free'. Regardless of Labor's investment, on being told they need to pay a retail service provider to get online many consumers would probably agree. We rate Turnbull's statement Mostly True."

Politifact also found that repeated claims from Labor politicians that households would be charged $5000 under a Coalition government for the fibre connections that would be provided under Labor were "mostly false", because it was based on estimates of maximum charges to customers in Britain.

Mr Turnbull also said the Coalition would build the NBN faster and for less than $30 billion. He said using fibre-to-the-node technology would allow a faster and cheaper roll-out because it avoids connection to millions of households.

Quote:


This is the crux of the whole debate.....Under the Coalition anyone who wants to upgrade to optic fibre must pay for the installation themselves on top of the cost of connecting to an internet provider.....Those people who already have fibre to the home will have a distinct commercial advantage over those who will never get fibre from the Coalition.....The cost of maintaining and replacing the copper network will be paid for by the consumer and put high speed optic fibre broadband out of the reach of most Australian's.....The Coalition are offering Australian's nothing for the future technology blitz that will be the new boom for economies that embrace innovation and change!!!