Chris Trevor (Flynn, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to support the Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (National Broadband Network Measures—Network Information) Bill 2009 before this House. In Australia we do many, many things extremely well. We have many achievements that we can be proud of but, unfortunately, access to high-speed broadband has not been one of them. Today, Australia is ranked in the bottom half of OECD countries in our take-up of broadband services—that is to say, we are ranked 16th out of 30 countries. When we do have broadband, we pay more for it. We are ranked 20th out of 29 countries with regard to broadband affordability. Our slower connection services are also not cheap. We pay more for our low-speed internet connection, ranking us fourth most expensive for low-speed services and fifth most expensive for medium-speed connections.

It has been stated that, as recently as July 2008, two-thirds of metro areas and more than half of regional areas in Australia had no access to an internet service capable of delivering 12 megabits per second. These figures tell us all a sad and sobering story. Personally, I would not like to see these figures get any worse. I am sure most of us in this House would not. If that happens, Australia will fall further behind in our access to broadband technology.

Looking at the figures, we clearly have a need as a government to act quickly and, of course, in the national interest. Whilst the so-called old economy of coal and resources may be strong and serving us well and will serve us well into the future, this does not mean that we can afford to turn our backs on the new economy of information and technology. This is particularly true in areas such as my electorate of Flynn in central Queensland, where our resources continue to contribute substantially on a state and national level.

We should remember that these access figures are not just statistics on paper but carry with them a very real human face. In my electorate of Flynn, I have unfortunately witnessed firsthand families that cannot gain access to standard broadband services. Some of these families have children at school and fear their child will fall behind their classmates who do have access to broadband. Some of these families have small businesses or work from home to be with their families and they fear that their work or business will suffer at the hands of a slow internet connection that puts up barriers to obtaining the information that they need to compete and to be productive in today’s world. Some of these cases have occurred in the very heart of my hometown of Gladstone, the proud powerhouse of the Queensland economy, and some in Emerald, the capital of the Central Highlands west of Gladstone. These families have simply been told that the ports and exchanges that operate this vital service are running at full capacity.

There are examples in my electorate of Flynn where people do have access to a broadband service, but this is where I fear a further problem lies. If we do not take action now to improve broadband services right across Australia, especially in the bush, then we are in danger of splitting communities into the digital haves and the digital have-nots. We are in danger of witnessing a great digital divide spreading further into our communities and we are in danger of witnessing hardworking Australian families, through no fault of their own, forced into digital poverty.

This is a very real problem facing ordinary Australians, affecting real people and real families. It requires a real solution and a strong government to take the lead, to pick up the ball and to start improving access to high-speed, high-quality broadband across Australia, which has been lacking for so many, many years. This is exactly what the Rudd government is doing with the National Broadband Network.

In April of this year my government, the Rudd Labor government, proudly announced a new plan to enhance broadband services right across Australia and establish the new company, known as NBN Co., which will build, own and operate a wholesale fibre-to-the-home network. The sheer size and significance of this project cannot be taken for granted. It is the single largest infrastructure investment ever undertaken by an Australian government. It is a $43 billion investment in our future, a future that we may not even be able to imagine today but that we must be ready for and well positioned to seize every advantage and every opportunity from. This network will vastly improve current access rates to broadband services, but unlike previous proposals the National Broadband Network will benefit 100 per cent of Australian premises, as this government believes that, no matter where in this great country of ours you live or work, you deserve access to a reliable broadband network and the many, many benefits that this brings.

The network will connect 90 per cent of our homes, schools and businesses with a fibre-to-the-home infrastructure capable of delivering speeds of 100 megabits per second—that is to say, 100 times faster than the current connection speed used by most Australians today. The remaining 10 per cent of premises will not miss out, and nor should they. They will be connected to the network with next generation wireless and satellite technology able to deliver speeds of at least 12 megabits per second. This is welcome news and a welcomed investment by the Rudd Labor government. It is welcomed particularly by rural and regional areas; as I stated earlier, currently more than half of our regional areas have no access to an internet service capable of delivering 12 megabits per second.

So what is the additional significance of broadband? While we may currently be among the strongest economies in the developed world, research company Access Economics has found that a national high-speed broadband network such as the NBN would further positively impact on Australia’s economic performance. Access Economics predicts that a broadband network would see our economic growth 1.1 per cent higher after 10 years compared to not building such a network. And, as we are all too aware, with economic growth comes employment, prosperity, productivity and opportunities that would not have existed previously. This higher economic growth is an impressive benefit and at a local level, in my community of Flynn, the National Broadband Network has a huge potential.

The network will further overcome an old problem existing for many years and associated with living in the bush—that is, the vastness of distance and the tyranny of same. Before the internet became a valuable educational tool students in city areas had access to far more comprehensive resources than students in rural and regional areas. To take one example, state libraries and museums were at the fingertips only of those receiving an urban education in a capital city. Thankfully, this is now no longer the case, with the further help of the National Broadband Network, which will overcome the challenges that are put up by this vast land of ours.

The National Broadband Network will do what no government ever possibly could—that is, it will further place resources such as state libraries and museums right in the home of every single Australian student, including placing them at the fingertips of rural and regional Australian students. It will help provide a level playing field for those studying in rural and regional areas and it will help to break down barriers to information and opportunities for our kids in the bush. Improved educational outcomes for regional and rural students are only one of the many, many benefits of the National Broadband Network. It will also help regional and rural health services to deliver better care for our rural and regional communities, with better access to diagnostic and other support services. The new network will offer our local small businesses and our farming communities improved productivity to better and more efficiently compete, expand their markets and do business.

In my electorate of Flynn I am lucky enough to have had two areas declared by my government as priority locations for the rollout of the National Broadband Network. I am pleased to see that both Emerald and Longreach will share in the government’s initial investment in a fibre-optic backbone to link these two vitally important communities of Flynn. I have been informed that work on the Longreach and Emerald priority locations is progressing very well, with tenders for the work closing on 5 August and currently being evaluated. Work is set to start on these priority locations in Flynn as early as this year, and I expect the physical construction of the network to be a much-needed boost to our local economy, particularly in these two areas and surrounding areas, and a much-needed boost to local small businesses. I would like to take this opportunity today to thank the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy not only for his hard work and dedication on this matter but also for his understanding of the desperate need of rural and regional Australia and communities like Flynn for the rollout of the National Broadband Network. I look forward to delivering this network and its benefits in company with him, and I ask him to do so as soon as possible.

The technical aspects of the Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (National Broadband Network Measures—Network Information) Bill 2009 deal with the information that will be required to plan and coordinate the rollout of the National Broadband Network. In order to efficiently and promptly roll out this network certain information will be required and this bill will essentially outline the information that is to be supplied to the government from other telecommunication and utility providers. Such information could include locations of existing ducts, poles, pits, pipelines or other infrastructure that could be used to roll out the physical network of cables used to deliver broadband services. By using existing infrastructure where possible we are taking the most cost-effective path to delivering high-speed internet into Australian homes. Some of this information may be sensitive in its nature, both on a security and commercial level, but I do note that there are safeguards in place to ensure the appropriate handling of this information. This view is also expressed by the Environment, Communications and Arts Legislation Committee, to which this bill was referred on 25 June this year. The same committee also recommends that this bill be passed.

While I would never want to live anywhere else in the world, I know firsthand that living in a regional community presents its own unique challenges. But I feel that this far-reaching National Broadband Network will help overcome some of these challenges and present our regional communities with improved services and more opportunities. While I can admit to not being the savviest of technology users, I can see the huge potential of the National Broadband Network in many forms, including as a successful former small businessman, as a father of five children and from the many young minds that I am lucky enough to meet as I travel the many schools in my vast electorate of Flynn. I welcome any steps that bring forward the reality of high-speed internet connection to homes and businesses in Flynn and throughout Australia generally. That is why I wholeheartedly support this bill and commend it to the House today.

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