For many Lane Cove locals affected by the ‘cabling cowboy’s’ destruction of property, questions of when it will be rectified have almost been forgotten. Finally, after months of deliberations some of the answers are becoming clear.
In August, QC Communications went into liquidation, abandoning their Lane Cove worksites and leaving behind an unfinished and unsafe mess outside residents’ property. QC Communications was undertaking the work on behalf of Xenith IG.
In The Cove inquired to Lane Cove Council when these damages would be rectified as some were causing a potential hazard for pedestrians; particularly a severely damaged footpath adjacent to the busy Burns Bay Rd.

They indicated Xenith IGtold them they could not touch any of the worksites due to the liquidation involving QC.
However, a statement from QC Communication’s liquidator, Llewellyn Communications Pty Ltd, mentioned the contrary, sharing that Xenith IG had not approached them about accessing the sites following the termination of their contract on 16 August.
“The Liquidators have not received any requests from either Lane Cove Council or Xenith IG regarding seeking access to the sites in Lane Cove,” the statement to ITC read.
“Xenith IG also requested the return of materials, and arrangements were subsequently made with Xenith IG to collect their goods from site and/or from QC Comms directly. The Liquidators subsequently gave access to Xenith IG to collect its goods.”
Similarly, other LGAs experienced issues with Xenith IG and its contractors using the 1997 Telecommunications Act to work on public property without needing a Development Application and leaving a mess.

Earlier this year Canada Bay Council contacted the contractors installing cabling in the area – revealed to us to be Xenith IG and QC Communications – as well as Safe Work NSW after they shared concerns with residents regarding the mismanagement of multiple worksites.
Much like Lane Cove, there were comments concerning safety and the environment during construction, independent of Council, on grass verges, footpaths and roads. The LGA mayor, Michael Megna, raised the issue in a Mayoral Minute in May, stating that after a meeting with Safe Work and the head contractor, an agreement was made to immediately rectify any damage.
Other Councils such as Parramatta, Cumberland and the Shire Council were also affected during this time but have yet to confirm with ITC.

Regardless, multiple anonymous QC staff members and contractors have backed the claims coming forward with statements and pictures, sharing similar mismanagement issues as Lane Cove and Canada Bay.
Rectifications have already been completed in the other LGAs. So, if these works were happening simultaneously, then why isn’t Lane Cove fixed? Well, there are a few reasons.
Why Lane Cove Is Left In The Dust
A simple explanation is Lane Cove Council sought to resolve the issue internally. The Telecommunications Ombudsman (TIO) was not contacted as Council believed the issue could be solved more immediately independently.
This may have been true if QC Comms did not go into liquidation in August, which made the explanation a tad more complicated. As mentioned, Xenith IG claimed they couldn’t touch the worksites due to the liquidation, despite never asking QCs liquidation company to do so.
This delayed the rectifications for months, which are now beginning to be carried out by different contractors. An ex-QC staff member shared that works in other LGAs were able to be completed as it was before the company went into liquidation.

He claimed these areas were prioritised over Lane Cove as the Council had yet to complain.
But were there other entities that could’ve resolved some of the issues?
It wasn’t only destroyed grass verges and footpaths that caused headaches among residents, water constantly seeping from the ground to the surface, causing a consistent flow of mud and minerals, was quite the concern.
ITC explored if this issue could be resolved by water regulating service Sydney Water. We provided multiple street examples and followed up with reference numbers of previous inquiries made by Lane Cove residents.
Sydney Water said in a statement that crews have attended sites from July 1, including Wood St and St Vincents Rd, twice, and found the water to be from groundwater seepage and therefore not their responsibility or any water agency.
Groundwater seepage is a natural occurrence that was prompted by the excavations of QC Communications machinery.
Ralf, a Wood St resident, had troubles beginning around three months ago when contractors parked their machinery on his front verge and driveway. A ‘12-tonne machine’ destroyed his driveway and a ‘tidal wave’ of mud and water followed.
“The drilling guys, they were quite clear. They said, Oh, the procedure is, we’ll cut it and destroy it. We’ll do our drilling and then the next subcontractor will come in. They will dig it up, they’ll replace the driveway, they’ll replace what we’ve broken,” Ralf told ITC, standing on his torn-up driveway.
“They drilled into an underwater aquifer, then we had the tidal wave of mud that came down into the garage, sort of covered everything with the drilling mud, that was the original subcontractor that cleaned that up. But since they’ve left, we just haven’t seen or heard from anyone.
“We did contact [Sydney Water], to be honest, they didn’t want to know about it… They were like, yes, we’ve had 10 people contact us about this. It’s not us. We’re getting tired of getting these calls about it. It’s not to do with our network like we’ve been out and tested it.”

Ralf is just one of many horror stories from unsuspecting residents who never asked or had any choice but to endure this chaos and disruptions in their day-to-day lives.
Mismanagement from cabling/communications businesses and a delayed reaction from Lane Cove Council seem to be the reasoning behind this destructive situation; but what’s stopping it from happening again?
Burnt Bridges on Burns Bay
Insolvency often doesn’t happen overnight, and documents secured by ITC from liquidators reveal QC Communications owes over $7.3 million to contractors and employees who have worked with them over various projects.
Some of the contractors who said they worked on Burns Bay Rd were not listed on the debts list and claim they were also not paid – which would make the amount owing even higher.
Tony Benison from Benison Contractors said he is one of these businesses and is owed $600,000.
“Bastards were working insolvent with no money, with no intention to pay us,” Mr Benison said.
“I sold three excavators, all my trucks. I’ve only got one truck left for work and one little tipper, I had to sell my big tippers, 90 per cent of my tools, cable hauling winches and stuff like that, I’ve had to sell everything.”

Boger Traffic Control, who worked traffic control around Parramatta, Pennant Hills Rd and Carlingford, say they’ve been chasing QC Communications for hundreds of thousands of dollars as well as Xenith IG in an attempt to finish their work and get paid.
“We’ve been chasing Xenith as well, to see if we can go back and do the works to make up for it, and they just haven’t been getting back to us. We’ve been left in the dark with this big debt,” an employee of Boger Traffic Control shared.
“It’s just heartbreaking that this has happened to us.”
Contractors noted multiple safety concerns while working on the cabling projects, stating deadlines were pushed forward, construction was rushed, pits were left open and workers were told to continue work on busy roads past the designated times in the morning when it was deemed safe.
One former QC Comms staff worker who was present around the Burns Bay Rd site claims unrealistic expectations from Xenith IG forced them to rush jobs and work overtime, otherwise they would not get paid.
“They [Xenith IG] had a timeline, deadline, and they kept moving the goalposts on QC,” the ex-worker said.
“The problem was that if we didn’t get it done for them, then when we made a claim, they would knock it back. So then we’d always try to work out 16 – 20 hour days, push it to the limits. There were road boards that we’d done that weren’t even RMS approved.”

Another QC Comms worker employed in the same Lane Cove area came forward about their experience working under Xenith IG.
“A lot of the pits that we work in were an absolute mess. And from my understanding, and from what I’ve been told from various people that were dealing with Xenith, they weren’t paying variations on the original contract,” he said.
“Essentially, QC, they signed a deal with Xenith, and Xenith just kept cranking making them drive the price down to a point where, essentially, they couldn’t do the job for the price that Xenith were paying… I’m hearing lots of companies are now refusing to work with Xenith just because of their unethical business practices.”
Both employees were made redundant from QC Communications after the liquidation and are still owed money. They also stated that before recently, they had enjoyed their years of employment and viewed the company as reputable.
Mr Benison who has done various contract jobs for QC for 15 years had the same opinion and says he ultimately blames Xenith IG for his business losses.
“We had the RMS one night on us because we went over the zone, [Xenith] was pushing us to get it done… We tried to help QC get jobs over the line and finished off and get money in the book to try to save QC. All we did was just get them paid,” Mr Benison said.
“I’m upset with QC… Xenith was altering the contract every week, they were coming up with new things that they wanted done… personally I blame Xenith.”

Business disputes and alleged unethical contract allegations may not seem completely relevant, however, this type of unregulated mismanagement can be what leaves LGAs in the dust.
The 1997 Telecommunications Act that gives telecommunication providers powers to complete work without a DA was originally intended to provide Australians with broadband quickly and efficiently.
ITC has received confirmation that the cabling operations being conducted in Lane Cove were contracted to Xenith IG by private companies.
Councils have limited to no power to stop these private companies from installing cabling around LGAs due to the act. This seems to be a compromising issue considering alleged disputes between subcontractors could be the reasoning behind the prolonged destruction of public property, hazardous footpaths for pedestrians and in some cases, financial burdens for residents.
If this is the case, then what’s stopping it from happening again?
ITC has made the Minister for Communications, Michelle Rowland, aware of this issue. We have been told she is corresponding with the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA).
Will Lane Cove Be Rectified Soon?
Although there is no official timeline on when all the works will be completed, Lane Cove Council confirmed works have begun on Finlayson Street and Rosenthal Avenue by a separate subcontractor from QC.
ITC spoke with some of the residents who have had the property out of the front of their homes rectified – after months of waiting, they aren’t completely satisfied with the results.

Randi, a resident of Finlayson Street says workers finally rectified the lawn out the front of their apartments, but not to a full extent.
“The guy, when we asked, said, no, no, we were told only to touch the area that is damaged. So I said, Well, what about where the trucks were with the tread? And he said we’ll just fill that with some sand or some soil,” Randi said, describing her interaction with the contractors re-turfing the front grass verge.
“So they came back the second day and put some more turf down. And they didn’t do that bit there, because they reckon it wasn’t damaged by their equipment. You know, the cowboys who dug it all up.”
Lorraine and her husband, residents of Wood Street, were frustrated as after months of waiting, decided to take matters into their own hands and re-turf their destroyed verge themselves. A week later contractors came and dug it up again to finish QC Communications work.
A small section was only dug up, but it was not re-turfed after the completion of the job.

Lane Cove Council staff has told ITC that an agreement has been made with Xenith IG regarding the rectification of the damaged area in Burns Bay Road, from Penrose to Figtree Bridge.
Xenith IG will cover the costs of the full restoration, including upgrading most of the damaged footpaths once the cabling works have been completed.
Rectifications for the rest of Lane Cove were not specified.
Although we have covered a lot in this article, there are still a few queries lingering in this saga.
What do Xenith IG and QC Communications have to say about the allegations made by former contractors and employees?
How will Minister for Communications Michelle Rowland respond to the issue of cabling cowboys?
Will there be a timeline for the rectifications for the rest of Lane Cove?
Stick with us for our wrap-up on this three-part investigation as we dive deeper to try and have these questions answered.
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