Hunter businesses and household have fared badly in the early days of the NBN, with systemic telco-related “backhaul” problems and dwindling internet speeds in city and rural areas reported frequently by Fairfax Media.

In Thornton on Tuesday, Labor communications spokesman Jason Clare said he favoured an audit into “errors with fibre to the node [broadband] in the Hunter and why it’s not working properly”.

“[The problems] might have to do with whether the telcos are buying enough access, or it could be something NBN is doing wrong,” Mr Clare said.

Mr Clare also announced that 19,000 homes and businesses in Thornton and across the marginal electorate of Paterson – including Kurri Kurri and Medowie – would be connected to the NBN next year under Labor.

Across the Hunter, Labor has promised fibre to the premises NBN for 50,000 homes and businesses.

The opposition said Beresfield, Tarro, Woodberry, Lemon Tree Passage, Mallabula, Tanilba Bay, Abermain, Cliftleigh, Heddon Greta, Pelaw Main, Stanford Merthyr and Weston would also be connected under its policy to gold plate the NBN.

The Coalition’s preferred NBN model, already implemented in parts of the Hunter, relies principally on copper phone connections for the final link from the neighbourhood cabinet – or node – to the premises.

“Thornton has almost the worst broadband services in Australia,” Mr Clare said.

“If Labor wins the election on the weekend, instead of the slower copper version of the NBN, Thornton will get the faster, fibre to the home NBN. Instead of fraudband for Thornton, they’ll get broadband.”

Mr Clare said a Labor government would “consult” Infrastructure Australia to act on “the mess” he said had been created by the Coalition’s fibre to the node roll out in the Hunter.

Labor says the new broadband infrastructure it has promised the Hunter falls within its wider commitment to roll out the NBN to two million more Australian homes and businesses using optic fibre.

Labor has capped its NBN spend at $57 billion. 

Taxpayers would pay $29.5 billion of that and investment of private debt would contribute about $27 billion.

Labor says its network costs no more than the Coalition’s because it does away with copper, which needs maintenance, and because fibre to the premises has no electricity costs.

“We’ve made it clear that the [NBN] investment Australian taxpayers make will be exactly the same whether Labor or Liberal is elected on the weekend,” Mr Clare said.

Opposition leader Bill Shorten has said Labor’s national completion date for the NBN is the same as the Coalition’s – June 30, 2022.