Leanne Donaldson says she's appalled but not surprised by the chaotic rollout of the NBN.

Leanne Donaldson says she's appalled but not surprised by the chaotic rollout of the NBN. Paul Donaldson BUN150317KNAU12

I WAS appalled to read the Telecommunication Industry Ombudsman's report released this week, which shows that complaints about the Turnbull Government's botched National Broadband Network are spiralling out of control (NM, 20/10).

Appalled, but not surprised.

Countless constituents have spoken to me about their bungled NBN installations and the desperate situations they have been left in - elderly members of our community have been left without a functioning landline for weeks.

It's little wonder Bundaberg recorded the third highest number of complaints in Queensland.

And what do I hear these poor people say more than anything else? "It's not worth it.”

What a sad outcome for one of the most important nation-building projects of our generation.

Readers who have followed this sorry saga for some time will know the political back and forth on this topic well.

Labor's vision was for a future-proof, world-class, fibre-to-the-home network.

The Coalition saw fit to downgrade this to a fibre-to-the-node plan, ostensibly to cut costs.

Make no mistake - this was a failure.

What we have seen is an extraordinary cost blowout on a mongrel network that is demonstrably not fit for purpose.

As the State Member for Bundaberg, I see this failure affecting the work that the Queensland Labor Government is trying to do.

Through our $420 million whole-of-government Advance Queensland agenda, the Palaszczuk Government is driving innovation across the state.

There are countless businesses in Bundaberg who have the talent and passion to take Queensland forward, but innovation is held back when they our digital infrastructure is not up to scratch.

So where is the leadership from Malcolm Turnbull, the architect of this shambles?

Where is the representation from our local Federal Member, Keith Pitt?

Time and again from the LNP, we see no real plan for infrastructure, no real plan for job creation, just cruel and pointless attacks on the most vulnerable people in our community.

LEANNE DONALDSON

Member for Bundaberg