Resignations seen as reflecting lack of confidence from new Coalition government

This article is more than 6 years old

This article is more than 6 years old

The entire board of the NBN Co, the government-owned company responsible for operating Australia’s broadband network, has offered to resign in a move interpreted as reflecting a lack of confidence from the new Coalition government.

The resignations were agreed at a board meeting on Friday, Guardian Australia understands.

All seven board members, including chairwoman Siobhan McKenna, have agreed to resign, with just one member, Kerry Schott, expected to to be invited to stay on, according to Fairfax Media.

The resignations have yet to be accepted by the communications minister, Malcolm Turnbull, and it is unlikely they will be formalised in the short term as they need approval from cabinet.

Turnbull has been a vocal critic of the board in recent months. In July he described it as lacking the proper experience to operate the country’s broadband network.

“... it is remarkable that such a large board doesn’t have anyone with hands-on experience in building a telecommunications network or running one, and if you were assembling a board for a project of this kind, that’s the sort of experience you would want to have on it,” he said.

Turnbull has indicated in the past that former Telstra boss Ziggy Switkowski could make a suitable candidate to head the NBN Co.

The Coalition is looking to change Australia’s national broadband network from a faster fibre-to-the-premise model, begun under the previous Labor government, to a slower and cheaper fibre-to-the-node model.

The move has met with protest and an online petition calling for the Coalition to return to the Labor model has received nearly 260,000 signatures.

Guardian Australia is awaiting comment from NBN Co.