Tony Zappia (Makin, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (National Broadband Network Measures—Network Information) Bill 2009. The one advancement that has done more to bring the people of the world closer, to lift people out of poverty, to enable scientific advancements to surge ahead and to modernise the world would have to be the information technology revolution of the latter half of the 20th century. It is a revolution which continues today; however, it is also a revolution that is fundamentally dependent on a high-speed national broadband network. It is in this context that the failure of the coalition members when in government to roll out a high-speed national broadband network highlights just how out of touch they are and how much they are still stuck in the past, because they are now saying that all we need to do is invest in another study. They still do not understand the importance and the urgency of having a national broadband network. The consistent message—and there is a consistent message—that I hear from all speakers from the coalition on this matter is that the provision of a national broadband network left under their government is a national disgrace. At least on that I do agree with them, and it is time that we did something about it.

This bill is fundamentally the same as the bill introduced into the Senate on 25 June 2009. That bill, the Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (National Broadband Network Measures No. 1) Bill 2009, amends part 27A of the Telecommunications Act 1997, which was enacted in 2008. The bill does three things: it removes the sunset clause which made part 27A inoperative after 26 May 2009; it expands the class of firms from which information can be compulsorily sought to include utilities; and it changes the purpose to which that information can be put. Without labouring this point, I notice that the member for O’Connor made reference to and raised concerns about who could access this information. I just point out to the member for O’Connor that the carrier or utility must give information to an authorised information officer only and that protected network information must not be disclosed or used except as permitted by this part of the bill. In other words, the information will be released carefully and in a measured way. These measures are necessary to establish a new fibre-to-the-home national broadband network. They are necessary because a voluntary request to carriers to provide the required information did not result in all the information that was required being made available.

Following the unsatisfactory nature of proposals submitted to the government for the rollout of a national broadband service, the government announced on 7 April 2009 that it would establish a company to build, own and operate a fibre-to-the-home network. Ninety per cent of homes, schools and workplaces will be connected to the network with the fibre optic cable. The remaining 10 per cent will be connected by satellite and wireless services. The use of existing facilities is an important option in the provision of a new network, and those options will, I expect, be canvassed by the new company. The federal government will have a majority shareholding in the new national broadband networking company. Although, the intent is for the federal interest to be sold down within five years after the network is built and operational. The failure of the Howard government during a period of unprecedented prosperity to roll out a national high-speed broadband service is a shameful legacy of that government. Australia today lags behind most comparable countries with respect to the provision of a modern broadband system that meets the needs of a 21st century society.

This is not simply a matter of national pride—or, more accurately, national embarrassment—but a matter which directly impacts on the nation’s productivity. The use of computer technology has become essential to our way of life, and the infrastructure required for the service is as important as other infrastructure such as roads, rail, ports and aviation infrastructure. But, as for the provision of other infrastructure, the Howard government failed to make the necessary investments. Not surprisingly, the poor state of Australian infrastructure and in particular the failure of the Howard government to roll out a national broadband network became key issues in the 2007 election campaign. Having gone through several processes, the government is keen to get on with the rollout of a national broadband network. The last thing electors in my electorate want to see is the rollout frustrated or delayed by opposition members in this place or in the Senate. I note and welcome the decision by the government to expedite negotiations with the Tasmanian government so that that system can be rolled out in that state. Mr Deputy Speaker Sidebottom, I know that you are from Tasmania and I am well aware of the lobbying that you have been carrying out on behalf of your constituents in Tasmania.

I also welcome the statement by the minister that broadband black spot areas will be targeted and given priority in the rollout of the service. In my electorate of Makin there are a number of black spot areas, and residents within those areas are disadvantaged and frustrated by the poor service available. Suburbs such as Walkley Heights, Greenwith and parts of Hope Valley, Golden Grove and Pooraka all have black spot areas. I understand that around 10 per cent of residential, commercial and industrial properties across metropolitan Adelaide are unable to use ADSL—the most common form of broadband access—and that there are more than 350 black spot locations across Adelaide.

I therefore welcome the 14 August announcement made jointly by Senator the Hon. Steven Conroy and the Hon. Michael O’Brien MP, Minister for Science and Information Economy in the South Australia government that Adam Internet, a South Australian based company, had won the contract to construct a state-of-the-art wireless broadband network to address black spot locations across the Adelaide metropolitan area. I also note that that contract, which will deliver the high-speed wireless broadband service in advance of the national network, will create an extra 110 jobs during the network construction and customer connection phase and 75 permanent jobs will be required in the longer term. The 15-month rollout is expected to see the first service area come online next month.

I also welcome the announcement by Senator Conroy that the government is fast-tracking a $250 million investment in broadband services to black spot regions of Australia. The initial priority locations to receive investment are Emerald and Longreach in Queensland; Geraldton, in Western Australia; Darwin, in the Northern Territory; Broken Hill, in New South Wales; south-west Gippsland, in Victoria; and Victor Harbour in South Australia. I particularly note that those areas are predominantly regional and rural Australian locations, and I also note the number of coalition speakers who have come into this place and claimed that this government is ignoring the needs of regional and rural people. When you look at the priorities in terms of where this broadband network will be rolled out first, it is clear that this government is supporting rural and regional people; in fact, it is doing so when coalition members when they were in government ignored them—the regional areas of Australia they claimed to represent but failed to deliver for.

For every sector of our community, access to an effective broadband service is essential. It is no longer just an option or a luxury. The Rudd government went to the 2007 election with a promise to build a national broadband network. International studies at the time showed Australia had internet speeds 35 times slower than most other Western countries, ranking Australia 26th behind other advanced economies. The number of homes with internet access has increased significantly in recent years, from 35 per cent of homes in 2001 to 63 per cent of homes in 2006—highlighting again how much of a necessity having the internet has become. Of course many other Australians who do not have internet access at home are able to access the internet at school, work, university or through their local library or community centre.

An effective broadband network is particularly essential for small business and self-employed professionals—many of whom work from home. If we had a better broadband service throughout Australia, I expect more people could and would work from home. In fact, it is becoming a growing trend. As of November 2008, it was estimated by the Australian Bureau of Statistics that 765,000 Australians work from home. That is nearly eight per cent of the total workforce. Furthermore, the number of Australians working primarily from home has increased by 10 per cent since the year 2000—highlighting the growing trend of people working from home, primarily made possible by computer technology.

I would like to give a specific example of the kinds of limitations placed on someone working from home who does not have access to high-speed internet. Last year I met with a constituent who lives in Hope Valley, one of the suburbs I named earlier as having broadband black spots. This person ran her own business from home, working as a tutor for primary school children. Her clients were various schools and families around the area whose children required one-on-one support. In registering as a tutor for the federal government’s An Even Start program, this person was significantly disadvantaged by the speed of her internet connection. The length of time it took for her to access and download the application and support materials for the program had a negative impact on her business operations. This was a 21st century education support program that engaged with schools and tutors using 21st century methods—yet this person was potentially losing business just because of the lost hours from the time it took to download the materials. This is exactly the kind of work-from-home business that stands to benefit from the government’s National Broadband Network.

But it is not just small businesses working from home that will benefit from faster internet speeds. Students will also benefit. The Rudd government has acknowledged that and that is why it committed $1.2 billion for the Digital Education Revolution. I am pleased to say that some $2 million of that went into the electorate of Makin, where almost 2,000 computers were delivered to the high schools in my electorate. I have spoken with most of the principals in those high schools, and I can say without any shadow of a doubt that they all welcomed the funding which enabled them to provide more computers in their school for their students.

Larger companies and organisations will also benefit from faster internet speeds. Companies with clients or subsidiaries interstate and overseas will benefit. Universities that have research and education partnerships with institutions and students around the world will also benefit. The need from this particular sector led to a special broadband project known as SABRENet being established in Adelaide. SABRENet, which stands for the South Australian Broadband Research and Education Network, is a fibre optic broadband network linking major research and education sites in metropolitan Adelaide. Its membership is comprised of Adelaide’s three major universities—Flinders University, Adelaide University and the University of South Australia—in partnership with the state government and research organisations such as the CSIRO and the Defence Science and Technology Organisation.

The work of these organisations was severely constrained because of the poor broadband services available prior to the SABRENet project. I must acknowledge that that project was supported with federal government funds at the time, but it was initiated by these organisations and the state government of South Australia because they identified a real need that was constraining the ability of all these organisations to get on with the work that they were doing. There are many ways that these institutions now benefit from being able to interact in real time and transfer huge amounts of data at high speed. Collaboration on research is now made much easier, ultimately leading to better and faster outcomes.

The other project I wish to raise is Cinenet, a high-speed broadband network created specifically for screen media industries. The project was created by a partnership through Internode, an Adelaide based internet service provider, and Rising Sun Pictures, a special effects company based in Adelaide. Cinenet allows film and media companies to work in real time with their clients and partners around the world. It allows a filmmaker and an editor to be looking at the same piece of footage as if they were sitting in the same room looking at the same screen together. This technology has allowed local Adelaide companies to play significant roles on international films such as The Lord of the Rings, X-Men and the Harry Potter series. It has also created opportunities for people in Adelaide through the use of the internet.

There is a third example I want to bring to the attention of the House—and, if I recall correctly, I brought it to the House’s attention on another occasion. Within the city of Salisbury and particularly the western parts of the Makin electorate, there are about 7,000 small and medium business operators. Those businesses have had their operations severely constrained because of a lack of a high-speed broadband service to the region. Those businesses, in conjunction with the city of Salisbury and a private company called Amcom and with the support of the state government, invested a million dollars so that they could have access to a high-speed broadband network service. It was a terrific example of the community working together. More importantly, it was an example of the need for a high-speed broadband service to be available to those businesses so that they could remain competitive with their counterparts interstate and overseas. As a result of that cooperation, the million dollars was invested and the service was made available—no thanks to the previous government, who had been approached, and no thanks to Telstra, who had also been approached. I heard the member for O’Connor say earlier that Telstra could have provided the services that were required. Telstra was approached at the time, and I know that for a fact because I was involved in the negotiations. Telstra did not come to the party to provide the service that was needed nor did the federal government. The local community got its act together by working with the support of the state government and the private company Amcom and was able to deliver that service. It just highlights how behind the times this country is in terms of delivering a high-speed national broadband network.

A high-speed national broadband network is absolutely essential to Australia’s future, and Australian society stands to benefit from it in so many ways. A national broadband network will: improve the way our children learn; make it easier for our universities to partner in research with other organisations around the world; change the way our small businesses do business; and allow Australia’s businesses, large and small, opportunities to export to anywhere in the world. And a child studying or a small business owner working from home will no longer be disadvantaged because they happen to live in a suburb without high-speed broadband.

If I could briefly refer to the amendment moved by the opposition members, particularly the fact that they are simply saying we should be only investing in another study. That is just another cause for delay and, quite frankly, this technology is moving so fast that every month of delay causes businesses and communities around the country to be further and further disadvantaged. Every month of delay that we do not roll out a system affects the productivity of this country. Every month of delay makes this country far less competitive with our neighbours around the world. It is not in the national interest to delay this any further than is absolutely necessary. It is regrettable that we have not been able to implement a broadband system even faster. We would have liked to and the government has taken every step it possibly can to implement the system as quickly as possible. But the proposal that we have before us, I believe, is the right proposal. It is a sensible proposal and I am pleased to see that at least part of it will be given priority in terms of addressing some of the black spot areas throughout the country. After years of inaction by the previous Howard government, the Rudd government wants to ensure that all Australians have access to such a high-speed broadband network. It is a vital piece of nation-building infrastructure required for Australia to meet the challenges of the 21st century. I commend the bill to the House.

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