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Hansard
- Start of Business
- MAIN COMMITTEE
- CONDOLENCES
- COMMITTEES
- SOCIAL SECURITY LEGISLATION AMENDMENT (EMPLOYMENT SERVICES REFORM) BILL 2008
- CORPORATIONS AMENDMENT (NO. 1) BILL 2008 [2009]
- MIGRATION LEGISLATION AMENDMENT BILL (NO. 2) 2008 [2009]
- COMMITTEES
- FOREIGN EVIDENCE AMENDMENT BILL 2008
- TELECOMMUNICATIONS INTERCEPTION LEGISLATION AMENDMENT BILL (NO. 2) 2008
- COMMITTEES
- AUDITOR-GENERAL AMENDMENT BILL 2008 [2009]
- FEDERAL JUSTICE SYSTEM AMENDMENT (EFFICIENCY MEASURES) BILL (NO. 1) 2008
- BUSINESS
- FEDERAL JUSTICE SYSTEM AMENDMENT (EFFICIENCY MEASURES) BILL (NO. 1) 2008
- FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA AMENDMENT (CRIMINAL JURISDICTION) BILL 2008
- QUEENSLAND FLOODS
- MINISTERIAL ARRANGEMENTS
- QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE
- DISTINGUISHED VISITORS
- QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE
- DISTINGUISHED VISITORS
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QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE
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Economy
(Bishop, Julie, MP, Swan, Wayne, MP) -
Nation Building and Jobs Plan
(Jackson, Sharryn, MP, Albanese, Anthony, MP) -
Economy
(Turnbull, Malcolm, MP, Rudd, Kevin, MP) -
Economy
(Vamvakinou, Maria, MP, Tanner, Lindsay, MP) -
Indonesia: Merauke Five
(Oakeshott, Rob, MP, Rudd, Kevin, MP, Smith, Stephen, MP) -
Nation Building and Jobs Plan
(King, Catherine, MP, Burke, Tony, MP) -
Economy
(Hockey, Joe, MP, Rudd, Kevin, MP) -
Housing Affordability
(Cheeseman, Darren, MP, Plibersek, Tanya, MP) -
Economy
(Bishop, Julie, MP, Swan, Wayne, MP) -
Education
(Price, Roger, MP, Gillard, Julia, MP)
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Economy
- PERSONAL EXPLANATIONS
- AUDITOR-GENERAL’S REPORTS
- DOCUMENTS
- BUSINESS
- MATTERS OF PUBLIC IMPORTANCE
- MINISTERIAL STATEMENTS
- Adjournment
-
Main Committee
- Start of Business
-
CONSTITUENCY STATEMENTS
- Mackellar Electorate: Judy Dubois
- Franklin Electorate: Egg Islands Reserve
- Hinkler Electorate: Telecommunications
- Deakin Electorate: Rainwater Tanks
- Mayo Electorate: Lower Lakes
- Melbourne Ports Electorate: Child Care
- Nation Building and Jobs Plan
- Holt Electorate: Australia Day Awards
- Ms Pauline Talty
- Shortland Electorate: Meals on Wheels
- AVIATION LEGISLATION AMENDMENT (2008 MEASURES NO. 2) BILL 2008
- ADJOURNMENT
- Adjournment
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QUESTIONS IN WRITING
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Defence Land: Moorebank
(Vale, Danna, MP, Albanese, Anthony, MP) -
Community Development Employment Projects
(Abbott, Tony, MP, Macklin, Jenny, MP) -
Welfare Reform
(Abbott, Tony, MP, Macklin, Jenny, MP) -
Welfare Reform
(Abbott, Tony, MP, Macklin, Jenny, MP) -
Family Payments
(Tuckey, Wilson, MP, Macklin, Jenny, MP) -
Iraq
(Danby, Michael, MP, Smith, Stephen, MP) -
Indigenous Communities
(Abbott, Tony, MP, Macklin, Jenny, MP) -
Governor-General
(Melham, Daryl, MP, Rudd, Kevin, MP) -
Federal Executive Council
(Melham, Daryl, MP, Rudd, Kevin, MP) -
Dr Bernhard Moeller
(Forrest, John, MP, Rudd, Kevin, MP) -
Global Temperatures
(Jensen, Dennis, MP, Swan, Wayne, MP) -
Overseas Students
(Stone, Dr Sharman, MP, McClelland, Robert, MP) -
National Sporting Organisations
(Southcott, Dr Andrew, MP, Ellis, Kate, MP) -
National Sporting Organisations
(Southcott, Dr Andrew, MP, Ellis, Kate, MP) -
Sport: Funding
(Southcott, Dr Andrew, MP, Ellis, Kate, MP) -
Active After-School Communities Program
(Southcott, Dr Andrew, MP, Ellis, Kate, MP) -
Tertiary Education
(Katter, Bob, MP, Gillard, Julia, MP) -
Partner Service Pensions
(Markus, Louise, MP, Griffin, Alan, MP)
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Defence Land: Moorebank
Page: 627
Mr NEVILLE (10:36 AM)
—I am not exaggerating when I say that my office has been fielding complaints about telecommunications services and infrastructure—or, more precisely, the lack of services and infrastructure—for weeks on end. Every day, serious complaints about phone lines dropping out, services being disconnected without reason, lengthy breakdowns in email services and a failure to have existing accounts switched over to new providers have flooded in. Telstra, Optus—all the major telecommunications players—need to stop clowning around with their customers. I am not criticising employees working at the coalface—the techs et cetera. I save my comments for those further up the organisational chain of command in those companies.
Telstra has been by far the most common target of complaint. Let me quote from one constituent who outlined his problems in a recent letter to the editor:
On January 12 I rang Telstra about the sudden increase in my broadband bill, and after about three hours on the phone, that little problem was sorted out … Lo and behold, some bright spark decided to disconnect my phone line on the same day … for the next nine days, I spent over 30 hours talking to people and still not getting the problem fixed.
Just this week my office was informed of a situation where for two months a customer had been without a phone because Optus failed to ‘port across’—that is the expression—a number to Telstra. The gentleman who rang for help simply wanted to change providers—to go from Optus to Telstra—and made his original request at the beginning of December. For two months he waited with no home phone and operated a home business from his mobile phone. It was not until he contacted my office in January that things started to happen for him and I am hopeful that the problem will now be resolved. If it is not, I will be making a ‘please explain’ request to Telstra on his behalf.
It is galling enough when a home phone or internet service fails, but even worse when your business depends on it. Without exaggerating, there are local businesses in my electorate which have lost thousands of dollars worth of potential business because their phone lines have not been working. Small business is copping it tough right now and, if service providers cannot get their act together for both business and residential customers, things are only going to get worse. In these tough times, that sort of conduct is inexcusable.