Most of the 23 recommendations from the parliamentary inquiry into the NBN rollout were supported in principle, but not a reference group the government would have to consult on NBN business decisions.

The report stated the committee made an “incorrect assumption” that rural areas were not consulted.

Indi MP Ms McGowan was one of the committee members who pushed for the regional reference group.

“The government doesn’t have any idea how bad it is in the regions and the impact on businesses,” she said.

“They’ve basically said ‘you’ve got it all wrong’.”

The inquiry did spark change from the government, such as doubling the maximum monthly data limits for Sky Muster from 150GB to 300GB and establishing a NBN Local initiative.

Ms McGowan said she and the Indi Telecommunication Group had a productive meeting with the initiative around educating people on the NBN, but that would not solve the issues with the internet reliability.

She encouraged people to continue to report issues with the NBN because documenting them was the only way to make the government pay attention. “It’s really important people don’t put up with bad service, they’ve got to complain,” she said.

Farrer MP and committee chair Sussan Ley, who did not support recommendations from the majority of the committee, said she recognised not everyone had experienced a smooth transition to the NBN.

“This certainly doesn’t mean everyone is having a bad experience but it was pretty clear when a problem did came up, both NBN and the retail providers could do much better,” she said.

“I also recommended the smart approach would be to boost powers to existing authorities, to work alongside the NBN.”

The Australian Communications and Media Authority now has more power to handle customer complaints.

“I understand where Cathy’s idea comes from, but the initiatives we’ve already introduced together with the commencement of NBN Local in managing specific issues quickly, will achieve much more and is already starting to do so,” Ms Ley said.