Central Coast Rudolf Steiner School to receive NBN
WHEN Dobell federal MP Emma McBride outlined the NBN woes at a Central Coast school, she didn’t expect Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to intervene.
Central Coast
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PRIME Minister Malcolm Turnbull has personally intervened to implement access to the National Broadband Network for students of the Central Coast Rudolf Steiner School.
During Question Time last week, Dobell Federal Labor MP Emma McBride asked Mr Turnbull if he was aware that students at the Fountaindale school’s campus could not access NBN.
She pointed out that Ronkana Cemetery behind the school has connection, however the 300 students next door continued to struggle.
The Express Advocate detailed the plight of the school in a front page report on August 16.
Mr Turnbull asked Ms McBride to send him the specific details.
Less than 24 hours later there was a team of NBN technicians at the school.
The same day, Ms McBride received a response from Communications Minister Mitch Fifield stating that there was no fixed line ‘lead-in’ connection from the school, however a construction crew would complete the work next month.
Central Coast Rudolf Steiner School deputy principal Tiffany Reynolds-Flannery said staff and students welcomed the outcomes.
“Talk about going straight to the top,” she said.
“It’s a great example of the kids affecting change. The Year 9 students wrote to Ms McBride this year about the NBN problems.”
Year 9 student Arabella Zocher made a submission to the Joint Standing Committee on the NBN in August.
The school has been trying to get answers for more than four years, however access issues became a serious problem this year when the school introduced a scheme for students to bring their own devices to class.
Constant internet dropouts meant students were struggling to complete lessons and staff faced an uphill battle to run the office.
Ms Reynolds-Flannery said the school body had their fingers crossed the NBN would be working within the month.
“It will change our lives for administration, teachers and students,” she said.
Mr Fifield said NBN had made “terrific progress in the Dobell electorate”.
“My office has handled in excess of 450 individual complaints about the NBN. This is hardly ‘terrific’. This must be fixed,” Ms McBride said.
The Telecommunications Industry Ombudsmen’s annual report revealed NBN complaints increased by 159 per cent last year. Three Coast postcodes — 2250, 2259 and 2261 — were in the top 10 of those who logged the most complaints.
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