Michael Hatton (Blaxland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Throughout Australia there is an absolute hunger for productivity growth and an absolute hunger from small businesses Australia wide for real broadband infrastructure that will provide a national backbone. So far we have had bits and pieces. We have had parts of an answer because this government will not devote itself. It cannot imagine devoting the resources to providing what is needed for the 21st century; rather, it looks to the 19th century. What is not taken into account here is that there is national demand and a national need. In the Netherlands, they not only have fibre to the node, which places them at the forefront of world productivity and world access, but also are looking at doing fibre to every single household in the Netherlands. That is an enormous jump forward and will provide them with a great deal of capacity. They will do what Korea has done and they will continue to be world leaders.

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