Bruce Billson (Dunkley, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Broadband, Communication and the Digital Economy) Share this | Hansard source

Yes, I know. There is no suggestion of spirits and I certainly hope that you are not pregnant, and I wish your family well, Mr Albanese, in the good nature that I undertake my work. Those quick questions are: when will adequate broadband services be delivered to the people of Wollondilly including the small businesses that have been completely neglected under the Labor government? How much funding has been allocated to service areas such as Wollondilly and on what date will work commence that will provide equivalent service to the users in Wollondilly and to those in the minister’s own electorate of Grayndler?

On the question of the Communications Fund, I am just looking for an explanation as to why the bill was pulled in the Senate last night. My friend and colleague the Leader of the Nationals has touched on that. There is no public accounting for that action. That legislation terminated with no indication about what is being substituted. I trust that the government has seen the good sense and the credible arguments that the opposition brought forward and that there is a reason why you are keeping that Communications Fund, because that is the right thing to do. So some explanation of that would be worth while.

I note the minister’s lauding of Infrastructure Australia and the virtue of Infrastructure Australia and I draw his attention to his own speeches in the parliament—and, in fact, those of the minister for communications—and pose the question: why does Infrastructure Australia not have a seat at the table of the so-called ‘expert panel’? I also draw the minister’s attention to remarks about the expertise and understanding of the ACCC and ask why they are not on the expert panel. I ask the minister to examine the credibility afforded rightly to the Productivity Commission in areas of public policy development and wonder why they are not included on the expert panel, and I would like an answer to that. In addition to those inclusions of people who could add to the national interest, I ask whether there are plans to have a consumer advocate on the expert panel, because the only things competing for the most neglected status with the national interest with Labor’s broadband plan are consumer interests and the challenges that the minister is having in turning election sound bites into sound public policy, and I would like an answer to that also.

In another area of the portfolio, in Budget Paper No. 4 is the allocation to the ABC. I am wondering why there is no provision of $60 million a year to the ABC to carry forward the Labor government’s election commitment to have the ABC adhere to the Australian content requirements expected of commercial channels. Much was made of that commitment by the ALP about the ABC but there is no funding to actually give effect to it. Is that a commitment that is not being carried forward or is there some expectation that budgets will be cut? I also ask the minister to advise on the future, and fate, of the dedicated children’s digital channel at the ABC and wonder where that is going. Given that the minister has made a commitment to switch over—

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