back to article Labor's new comms spokesperson Michelle Rowland gets off to a bad start

The new communications spokesperson of Australia's opposition Labor has made a mess of her first foray into the portfolio. New comms shadow Michelle Rowland's parliamentary CV suggests she's got the experience for the job: she was shadow assistant comms spokesperson and has spent two stints on the standing parliamentary …

  1. dan1980

    "But in this canned statement she's marked herself out as either an opportunist populist or ignorant of important portfolio issues."

    Sorry, what's with this 'either/or' assessment?

  2. frank ly

    Politician Twists Facts To Suit Own Purposes!

    You can use that as a headline every day.

    In other news: The government said that ISP speed test websites show that broadband speeds are close to their claimed maximum.

  3. TheGreatHeff

    Connect the dots yourself, author

    Consider that the FTTP rollout was ramping up at rates very similar to those of FTTN. Consider the 24 month standstill that the NBN rollout came to as soon as the Liberal party came into power. Consider the FTTP ramp up was stopped before it could gather full momentum.

    Now consider that none of this would have happened if the Liberal party stopped being so fucking stupid when it comes to infrastructure builds.

    1. Simon Sharwood, Reg APAC Editor (Written by Reg staff)

      Re: Connect the dots yourself, author

      Feel free to support this one with data: I know of no advanced FTTP rollout canned for FTTN. FTTN and DOCSIS districts are, AFAIK, all in places the FTTP footprint just had not been meaningfully planned.

      1. Faceless Man

        Re: Connect the dots yourself, author

        Well, in a number of suburbs, including mine, scheduled FTTP installs were stopped and have not been resumed since the 2013 election.

        To be specific: Torrens Street in Braddon was on the NBN plan for 2013. The Body Corporate of my building had been in talks with NBN Co about the rollout plan, and the impact on residents, particularly having to install Fibre to each unit in the building. Someone had been down the street marking the pits out with spray paint (could have been for a number of reasons, but they seemed to particularly mark comms pits.) Shortly thereafter a federal election was called, there was a change of government, and the remainder of Braddon disappeared off the NBN schedule. Information on the NBN website suggests that when work does recommence (now saying Q4 2016, over three years later) it will be FTTN.

        Maybe having the work scheduled, discussions with the management of the residential properties on the street, and surveying work don't count as "meaningfully planned", but up until the Federal Election in 2013, we were being assured that we would be getting FTTP by the end of that year, and now we're being offered FTTN.

    2. mathew42
      FAIL

      Re: Connect the dots yourself, author

      The final mile technology is irrelevant when 79% of Australians are connecting at 25Mbps or slower, speeds that FTTn & HFC will handle easily.

      1. Jasonk

        Re: Connect the dots yourself, author

        Lol Mathew42

        And when we currently have 66% are picking the only speed requirement NBN needs to deliver or higher which fttn won't easily handle which the average 5mbps or each user on a node and with 5 dropouts a day is perfectly fine. HFC may or may not as again they only require to deliver 25Mbps.

        But then how much more is it now going to cost to upgrade the trash to meet furture demands. As labor expected 50% on 12/1 by 2026 which ATM is more like 50% on 25/5.

        But then we can look at Mathews comment down the track and see who short sighted he is.

  4. Winkypop Silver badge
    Unhappy

    Bottom line

    Either way you cut it, I'm not getting a decent connection any year soon.

  5. Youngone Silver badge

    What Experience?

    Her CV lists a couple of stints on Parliamentary committees and an appointment as an assistant spokesperson.

    That doesn't sound to me like she has any real knowledge or experience, I would expect it's a job she gets on the way to a more senior job (that she also has no particular skills or experience for).

    Not that she's unique there, that's the way politics works.

  6. robidy

    Was I the only one looking for a hilarious Corbyn gaff????

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