PRIME Minister Julia Gillard has laid responsibility for the widening Ballarat National Broadband Network asbestos scandal straight at the feet of telco giant Telstra.
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Speaking exclusively with The Courier, Ms Gillard said she understood Ballarat residents were worried about instances of illegal dumping of asbestos dug up to prepare for the roll-out of the NBN.
Ms Gillard said it was Telstra’s responsibility to properly prepare its pits and ducts for the NBN, comparing it to a landlord-tenant relationship between the telco and the federal government.
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“This is Telstra’s responsibility, squarely and simply, to have the pits and ducts in an appropriate condition for NBN Co to then roll the fibre out from,” she said.
Telstra is currently auditing the asbestos management work practices of its contractors and will release the findings in the coming days.
The Courier has reported a number of instances of improper dumping of asbestos by Telstra contractors working on pits and ducts in the Ballarat area.
Ballarat is one of the first regional centres in the country to be connected to the NBN.
Ms Gillard denied that the growing issue was the result of the federal government putting on pressure to try to meet NBN rollout timelines.
"My advice is that the NBN roll-out will still be proceeding as anticipated."
“Absolutely not. This is Telstra’s responsibility. This is not anything to do with the decisions we’ve taken to roll out the NBN,” she said.
The issue – which has resulted in work being temporarily stopped on the multibillion-dollar project – will not slow the rollout of the NBN, according to Ms Gillard.
“My advice is that the NBN roll-out will still be proceeding as anticipated,” she said.
“The pits and ducts that are the subject of this issue with asbestos were being prepared for when the roll-out was going to get to them.”
Employment and Workplace Relations Minister Bill Shorten will speak with Telstra, unions and other stakeholders today to try to get to the bottom of the issue.
Ms Gillard said Communications Minister Stephen Conroy had also made it “very clear” to Telstra that they need to “step up and do the right thing”.
“If you rented a house or anyone rented a house and found asbestos in it, that wouldn’t be the responsibility of the renter, that would be the responsibility of the landlord to address,” she said.
In a statement, Telstra did not respond directly to Ms Gillard’s comments but did say it had appointed independent advisers to work alongside one of its executives to oversee asbestos work practices.
Federal Ballarat Liberal candidate John Fitzgibbon said the Prime Minister’s comments were “disappointing” and left the community with unanswered questions.
“Yet again, this is another issue which has caught the government by surprise and the halt on work again calls into question the rubbery deadlines it has set for itself in the roll-out,” he said.
tom.cowie@fairfaxmedia.com.au
