Independent ACT senate candidate David Pocock has pledged to prioritise the NBN rollout for the ACT, saying the territory is continually being overlooked by the federal government.
The former Wallabies captain has told The Canberra Times that better access to fast internet is a big concern for Canberra residents and small businesses, particularly in light of the pandemic lockdown experience.
Mr Pocock points to NBN Co figures showing, over the past two years, the ACT has had the fewest number of suburbs added to the fibre-to-the-premises rollout of any state or territory. The figures show just 10 ACT suburbs added to the list of 1.78 million eligible homes and businesses out of 700 nationally since October 2020.
"That's only when you actually start to dig into the numbers and just see how neglected we are when it comes to the rollout," he said.
"It doesn't have to be that way. I don't think it should be that way. And I certainly think it's something that Canberrans should have access to."
There have been eight tranches of NBN upgrade locations since 2020. The ACT was only included in one tranche, for 10 territory suburbs in May 2021.
Mr Pocock is up against fellow independent Kim Rubenstein and the Greens' Tjanara Goreng Goreng to become the main challenger to the Labor and Liberal incumbents, senators Katy Gallagher and Zed Seselja. The two ACT senate seats have been returned to the Liberal and Labor parties since 1975.
The aspirant senator is pledging to push the case for better ACT connections, if elected to the senate crossbench in May.
"We've seen over COVID it's more important than ever to have a reliable internet connection for a number of things, including being able to work from home,' Mr Pocock said.
"We saw it with schooling, with people working from home, people trying to stay connected. It's something that based on consultations with the community, I'd be getting in there and actually pushing and ensuring that we get the NBN rolled out here in Canberra."
"In the Senate, you're using committees and estimates to highlight how the rollout is actually happening, how the ACT has missed out over a number of years of actually being part of the rollout."
