Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

The government’s commitment has not changed. Consistent with the discussion of sorts we have just had in this place about the state of digital education in Australian schools—the government was left with a mess on that score by our predecessors which we are now seeking to fix—when it comes to the state of high-speed broadband in the country, we are left with exactly the same challenge. According to the OECD comparative tables, we are lurking right down towards the bottom somewhere between the Slovak Republic and Slovenia. I would have thought that a modern economy seeking to build itself into a 21st century economy could do a lot better than that. But that is where the former government sat, and they flipped and flopped year in and year out without actually delivering any substantive outcome on that score. Broadband is critical in laying out the infrastructure of the 21st century. High-speed broadband is very much the railroad of the 21st century, the arteries of the new economy, and will be a critical piece of infrastructure for the future.

The government last week received proposals for the national broadband network. The government, as the honourable member will be aware, received six proposals. It is important to have an open process. The government’s independent expert panel will now have eight weeks to assess these proposals and provide advice to government. We intend to get on with the business of investing in the future.

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