"Vote Local, Vote Liz"

Wyndham is in danger of being a second class city when it comes to technology.

Broadband access continues to be an issue within many newer parts of Truganina Ward, and in today's society, broadband access is an essential service that has been sorely neglected.

With so many home-based Small Businesses, professionals and families moving into the area, not enough action has been taken to resolve this issue with the major provider. The effect is detrimental not only to Wyndham's atractiveness as a place to live, work, and raise a family, but also on its public image of being a progressive council.

4 Urgent Key Action steps need to be taken by Wyndham Council

1. Ongoing claims by the supplier about needed upgrades and improvements being 'not commercially viable' continue to sound hollow, despite vocal community concerns.As the ' Responsible Authority', it is essential that Council puts more pressure on the Suppliers and Governments to ensure every resident in existing estates has access to this basic service. In-roads have been made in this area, but the follow up has not occurred in a timely manner.
2. All estates not yet approved should be required to resubmit plans on the basis that they provide high quality broadband services, instead of cutting costs to provide basic, limited availability or no broadband access.
3. To allow land purchasers to make an informed decision before purchasing, where approved estates are under construction, council should seek to vary the conditions of those development permits.
4. Council should require developers to advise their client, In writing, both in their contract, and in the developers marketing material, as to the actual maximum speed actually available in each section of that estate, as well as the actual number of broadband ports still available to be purchased.

Some developers may feel that this would impose additional costs, but the results of these changes would be dramatic. Developers choosing to adopt this process as 'best practice' would gain significant competitive advantages over other developers, whilst developers who challenge changes of permit conditions using VCAT would be highlighting the deficiencies of their estate, thereby helping to put that information into the public domain.

The effect however, would be to allow purchasers to be better informed before making the decision about which home site or business location to choose.