Dear LG Focus:
Personally, I find Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss [‘Yes Minister’, October edition] disturbing.
The election promise of a National Stronger Regions Fund is targeted to regions with low socio-economic circumstances and where unemployment levels are higher than the national average and will seek to address regional disadvantage.
Sounds good until each project would require a 50 percent matching contribution.
I live in the largest shire in New South Wales with towns between 100 and 200 kilometres apart with no bitumen roads. Each town requires individual conveniences, playgrounds, sporting facilities and swimming pools. City people take these for granted. They also win awards for modern innovative projects, often with funding from 50 percent matching contributions.
Country towns never progress because they struggle to survive and rarely have spare capital to apply for programs such as the National Stronger Regions fund. Regional disadvantage needs to be looked at for our towns to survive. Investment leads to employment.
Cr Lorraine Looney
Central Darling Shire Council
Dear LG Focus:
Moorabool Shire Council is calling on the Federal Government and NBN Co. to honor its commitment to Darley residents and roll out fibre to the premises.
Since announcing the roll-out of the NBN in Bacchus Marsh in July 2010, the Federal Government and NBN Co. have consistently advised Bacchus Marsh, Maddingley and Darley community members that NBN Co. would roll out FTTP at no charge to residents and businesses.
But NBN Co. was unwilling to confirm the status of parts of the FTTP roll-out when Council recently enquired, sparking fears about the future of the roll-out.
The community wants urgent confirmation that the area in Darley, North of Wittick St listed as Fibre Serving Area 3BAC-05 on previous NBN Co. maps, will go ahead as planned.
NBN Co. needs to confirm that the technology, speed and costs to residents and businesses of the roll-out in this part of Darley are the same as promised, advertised and implemented in the rest of the town. NBN Co. has spent too much time consulting in our community and designing the network to deliver anything else than the fully funded minimum 100mbps FTTP connection. Until NBN Co. and the Federal Government rule it out, I fear parts of Darley might end up with slower speeds at a higher cost to connect than what was promised.
Neighbours receiving different service levels and costs after being promised the same service is simply unacceptable. We don’t think NBN Co. wants that either otherwise it wouldn’t have told Council and our community the plans for Darley. Therefore I can’t see why NBN Co. is so reticent to simply confirm the original plans to allay the fears of council and the community. Slower delivery methods and higher costs are barriers to high speed internet uptake. Any change will instantly create a digital divide in the same street. We don’t want our community separated into have and have nots – we want to be a shining example of the benefits high speed broadband can bring to a community.
NBN Co. and the Federal Government need to be very specific about the NBN roll-out in Darley. The Darley community has been patient with the roll-out to date and deserves to get what they were promised. So far they’re in the dark.
Cr Paul Tatchell, Mayor,
Moorabool Shire Council
