Marketing chief latest to quit NBN Co

David Ramli and James Hutchinson

One of NBN Co’s top marketing executives has quit after less than a year at the organisation, the latest in a series of departures to hit the rollout of Labor’s National Broadband Network.
General manager of marketing, John Casey, was marketing chief at Vodafone Australia until he joined NBN Co in early 2012. Mr Casey confirmed his departure when contacted by The Australian Financial Review, and is set to leave the role at the end of May.
The Financial Review understands that Mr Casey is joined by five other members of the communications team who have departed in recent weeks.
An NBN Co spokesman said the five departures included some junior administrative staff. As of February, NBN Co had 52 communications staff.
“Communications is not just PR and marketing,” he said.
“The fact that these people are leaving is in line with the natural attrition rate. A search for [John Casey’s] successor is already well advanced.”
At least five senior executives have left NBN Co over the past 12 months, including head of industry engagement Jim Hassell and head of construction Dan Flemming.
According to senior recruitment industry sources, who declined to be named, the looming federal election is discouraging executives from joining the company. Coalition communications spokesman Malcolm Turnbull has pledged a detailed review of management if his party wins.
Robertson Search partner Paul Rush said, “Politics is part of the overall picture but I think the amount of change is just too significant to hang off that particular hook. We need to understand the working environment for employees and for leaders and why we are seeing so much turnover.”
Separately, NBN Co is yet to hire any labourers to pick up construction work in the Northern Territory after Lend Lease-Service Stream joint venture Syntheo was forced to pull out last month.
NBN Co’s spokesman said the company was discussing terms with two small companies for work but confirmed no formal agreements had been signed, despite more than a month’s negotiations.
NBN Co is trying to directly hire labourers for the first time since construction began in 2011. Construction industry sources said this would allow NBN Co to pay significantly higher rates than those from Syntheo, which have been 50 per cent to 75 per cent lower than those offered by other contractors.
“When you’re employing the contractors yourselves, there’s no middle man, which you would assume will make it more lucrative, you’d presume,” said one source with knowledge of the negotiations.
However, those contracting for work in the Northern Territory are unlikely to receive the same conditions given to those on the trial sites. The Financial Review can reveal that some contractors building the network during 2011 received rates of more than $1000 per day – far more than those offered for the network build currently.
They were also paid “stand-down rates” – reduced pay for days when work was not available – and “dirty tickets”, when workers are paid for turning up to a work site but are unable to complete work because of external factors. Dirty tickets, specifically, are a common industry practice and a key point of contention for some subcontractors working on the NBN.
Contractors would also face heavy s­et-up costs for some specialised labour. One construction industry source said it could cost up to $70,000 to buy the necessary equipment to join fibre cables, a key skills bottleneck for network construction to date.

Amit Singh
pgdm 2nd sem