Today I want to talk about a key part of my electorate: the suburb of Wishart. I spent some time in Wishart over the winter break, talking with residents and local groups about what's important to them.

There was a great turnout at the NBN information session that I held recently for local residents and businesses. NBN Co has confirmed with me that this week over 4,300 premises in Wishart will be switched over to the NBN. These homes and businesses can expect a letter in the mail soon about the next steps they should take to connect to the NBN.

I recently met with the Wishart State School P&C Association to hear the latest on their five-year improvement plan. The P&C adopted this plan in July last year to help focus their fundraising efforts. They've already completed their first goal of putting air-conditioning in their resource centre. This October they're holding a spring carnival to raise funds to help them complete more of their goals, and I look forward to being there.

I also met with the Neighbourhood Watch Upper Mount Gravatt Area 16 to discuss the best ways to tackle local crime in Wishart and surrounding areas. The next round of the government's Safer Communities Fund is coming up soon, and I encourage them to apply.

It's always great to catch up with my constituents in Wishart. I will be doing so again this weekend at a mobile office in Devlin Street Park, with the state member for Mansfield, Mr Ian Walker, and councillor for MacGregor, Councillor Steven Huang.

The NBN rollout continues to be an issue of high concern to my constituents. I am pleased to have another positive update for Bonner locals.

NBN Co has advised me that 21 per cent of the NBN rollout is complete in Bonner, thanks to the Coalition government's revised rollout plan. Every premise in my electorate will have access to NBN services by 2020.

The majority of residents and businesses in Bonner will have access within the next year. Over time, the NBN will replace most of the existing networks as the deliverer of a new service network. This means that, at the end of 2020, there will be further plans for path upgrades and speed building. This will ensure that all users in my electorate will continue to have access to the best service possible.

Many people have been asking me about the NBN and what they should do when it reaches their door. Many of my constituents, particularly older residents, have come to me worried about how the compulsory switchover to the NBN will affect them.

To help answer their questions, I recently hosted three community information sessions with representatives from NBN Co. We first visited the Eight Mile Plains-Wishart area to take questions from local residents and business owners. We held two seniors information sessions for locals from the Wynnum Manly and Mt Gravatt areas.

Many attendees have told me how helpful they found these sessions. Common questions addressed included: what steps people must take to switch over to the NBN; whether extra devices are needed to be installed inside their home; and how people can check whether medical devices connected to their landline will be compatible with the NBN. Attendees also learned how they should shop around for a suitable provider in order to get the best possible broadband speeds to suit their requirements.

These NBN information sessions were such a success that I will be holding another one around the Carindale-Carina area in the near future. I look forward to doing more with the NBN as it continues to roll out in my electorate.

Local residents and business owners had the opportunity to learn more about the National Broadband Network (NBN) rollout in Eight Mile Plains and Wishart, thanks to an NBN information session today hosted by Federal Member for Bonner, Ross Vasta.

NBN Co Queensland State Manager, Lisa Berrie, joined Mr Vasta to help answer questions and provide solutions to attendees’ various connection issues.

“I’m pleased to report that 21 per cent of the NBN rollout is complete in Bonner, with all premises to have access to NBN services by 2020,” Mr Vasta said.

“Over time the NBN will replace most of the existing networks as the deliverer of a new service network. At the end of 2020, there will be further plans for path upgrades and speed building to ensure the best service is continually on offer for all users.”

Mrs Berrie said NBN Co had been hearing from some people regarding a lack of speed on their connection.

“In this instance ‘bandwidth choking’ is occurring— service providers have not purchased enough capacity from NBN to supply certain speeds. The issue is that the network is being oversold and is therefore not providing the speeds that NBN Co has the capacity to provide to each household,” Mrs Berrie said.

“What we recommend when switching over to the NBN is to shop around for a suitable provider. Ask them how much bandwidth they’ve purchased from NBN Co, and if you’ll experience bandwidth congestion. What is the capacity of my modem and will it throttle the speeds coming into my home?”

Mrs Berrie said NBN Co understood many people were frustrated about being told one thing by NBN and another by their telco providers in regards to solving these issues. She said there is currently an ACCC investigation ongoing and that NBN Co is confident there will be positive outcomes for all consumers following the investigation.

In response to questions about whether extra boxes would be required inside the home to be connected to the NBN, Mrs Berrie said there are a number of different solutions depending on the location of a person’s property and the service NBN Co is able to provide.

“You may have FTTP (Fibre to the Premise), FTTN (Fibre to the Node), or HFC (Hybrid Fibre Coaxial), which will determine whether you have additional devices to be installed at your premise or not. All of this information is readily available at the NBN Co website,” Mrs Berrie said.

Mrs Berrie said it would be compulsory for every household in Australia to switch over to the NBN.

“You will have 18 months to do this from the installation date. This will give you plenty of time to shop around and look into the options and packages available to you. You will also be reminded plenty of times during this 18 month period. NBN sends out all forms of communications to each and every household as a matter of priority as the 18 month deadline draws to a close,” Mrs Berrie said.

Mr Vasta asked those with further issues or questions to contact his office or visit the NBN Co website at www.nbnco.com.au.

Due to popular demand, Mr Vasta will be hosting another NBN information session at Mt Gravatt Showgrounds on Thursday, 13th July from 10am to 11am (RSVP to ross.vasta.mp@aph.gov.au or call 3893 3488).