The Greens will move amendments to the Government's NBN legislation this week to cap NBN Co executive salaries, and require the NBN to be recognised as a universal service. The Greens are in balance of power on the Bill and say their amendments will improve access and affordability for customers in the cost of living crisis.
The NBN Co CEO was paid more than $3m in 2023 making them the highest paid public servant in Australia, paid five times more than the Prime Minister. The NBN (Commitment to Public Ownership) BIll is due to be debated by the Senate on Tuesday.
Greens Amendments will:
- Cap executive pay - cap remuneration paid to senior executives at 5x the Annual Average Weekly Earnings, taking into account both base salary and bonuses
- Recognise the NBN as a universal service in the Act, with the NBN required to provide broadband in a way that is accessible to all Australians on an equitable basis
Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young is Greens spokesperson for Communications.
"The NBN belongs to all Australians, but too many consumers are being crunched by rising bills and network faults.
"The Greens will circulate amendments on Monday to recognise the NBN as a universal essential service, requiring the NBN Co to provide reliable, high speed broadband on an affordable and accessible basis to all Australians.
"The Greens will also move to cap the obscene salaries of the NBN Co CEO and other executives. Something is clearly wrong when the publicly owned NBN.pays it's executives millions of dollars while some Australians are struggling to pay their monthly internet bill or access a reliable service for a network Australians built and own. It doesn't pass the pub test and it is not value for money for taxpayers.
"It's galling that in the cost of living crisis we have the NBN Co CEO paid more than five times the Prime Minister - the highest paid public servant in Australia."
