With neither Transfield nor Chorus nor the government offering substantive comment on Transfield’s payment problem, Labour ICT spokeswoman Clare Curran is filling the vacuum.

“Hundreds of workers laying out broadband fibre around Hamilton, Tauranga, New Plymouth, Nelson and Rotorua have not been paid for weeks. They have been told by Transfield Services, which contracts directly with broadband networks Chorus and Ultrafast Fibre, that they won’t be paid until October, Ms Curran says.

“These involve payments of at least $1 million and likely much more.” The EPMU says around $800,000 is owned.

“I understand Chorus lawyers are pouring through their contractual arrangements with Transfield. They don’t want to see themselves mired in another messy public PR disaster,” Ms Curran says.

“But the buck stops with the Government on this and Amy Adams can’t hide.” Last night, Ms Adams flew out for a US trip to promote NZ tech companies.

Ultrafast Fibre spokesman Brett Morris tells NBR ONLINE, “It is not our place to comment on specific numbers of contractors who have down tools. What I can say is at this stage our six year programme of work, is not experiencing any significant delays. We are actively engaged with all subcontractors involved in an effort to mitigate any problems which might arise.”

More at NBR ONLINE