Michelle Rowland (Greenway, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Communications) Share this | Hansard source

I am pleased to have the opportunity to speak on this motion on small business and broadband, and particularly to highlight the failings of this government and of this minister who has overpromised yet chronically underdelivered when it comes to broadband. I would not presume to lecture those opposite about the government's failure on broadband. I will let their own side do it. We will start with Nationals Senator Barry O'Sullivan who, in Queensland Country Life in November 2014, highlighted his severe frustration with the government's lack of rollout and the lack of attention being paid to rural Queensland. The article says:

Mr O'Sullivan saw the gaps in the government's highly touted NBN scheme while touring far-western Queensland earlier this month.

"It's a shame on our nation," Mr O'Sullivan said.

"I'm embarrassed to be a part of a party whose government would allow this to continue.

"I think Malcolm should roll his swag out and run his ministry from out here for a month and then I think Malcolm will change his opinion.

"Let's see how he goes and hope that he doesn't need a phone service or internet, and he'll want to hope he doesn't need medical services."

The article went on to say:

Mr O'Sullivan said implementing the technology on an area-by-area basis was harming rural Australians' ability to compete in the global marketplace.

I will get back to that in a moment. But it is interesting that the article also ended by saying that Mr O'Sullivan:

… believed everyday Australians would see the unfairness in the gap between city and country infrastructure.

"The people of inland Australia feel abandoned by Canberra. They deserve better," he said.

On that issue of technology and the infrastructure gap, you need look no further than Senator Fiona Nash, who is not a fan of this government's model because, as she said herself in 2007, the FTTN solution is actually no solution at all: She said:

It's widely understood in the telecommunications industry that FTTN will not deliver improved broadband speeds to rural and regional areas.

That is spot on.

But I want to highlight a significant issue that I see occurring. We traditionally understood the digital divide as being between metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas, but now it is quite plain that there is a digital divide emerging between some rural centres and others. You need look no further than the issues of Tamworth and Armidale. In November 2013 in the Northern Daily Leader we read of a regional NBN advocate slamming the Abbott government's broadband plan, saying that abolishing the fibre to the premises network would disadvantage regional centres and their surrounding towns. There is a quote in an article in that paper from Inverell councillor and engineer David Jones, who, according to the article, said that:

… Tamworth should be "bellowing like crazy" over the NBN.

The article went on to say:

Mr Jones, who has a consulting business as a civil and structural engineer, said regional MPs should be concerned and fighting for the NBN.

"Armidale's now complete—

that is, the NBN fibre to the premises—

and they have a huge advantage over every other centre in the New England," Mr Jones said.

But, again, you do not have to take it from these commentators. You can take it from members of the National Party. In September last year, local member Adam Marshall, a New South Wales Nationals MP, speaking in the Armidale Independent said: 'We have a huge advantage in Armidale over all other regional centres in Australia as we are fully NBN connected. We see Armidale as the hub, the incubator, of a digital enterprise zone, and from here we can grow into other centres right across our region.' Well, that is the story for Armidale, but, comparing it to Tamworth, it is quite clear that Tamworth is extremely concerned that they are getting the second-rate nonsolution that is being offered under this government.

I would also like to highlight this. I recently visited Bathurst—a safe National Party seat—and the Bathurst chamber of commerce, and No. 1 on their list of issues was the need for a true fibre to the premises network for their businesses. I quote here from a paper that was provided to me by Mr Steve Semmens, a local who calls himself an advocate for small business:

We are concerned that FTTN … will become s ineffective as the current ADSL 2.

We require FTTP—Fibre to the Premises.

…   …   …

The Federal Government does not appear to realise the HUGE impact on business, especially SME's, they are having by not investing in the technological infrastructure we need to take us successfully into the next 100 years.

…   …   …

How many businesses decide not to set up in regional areas because the internet access is to slow or non-existent?

The bottle neck to future business success and confidence is the lack of understanding and ignorance of Governments Technology policies.

So there you have it, from locals in these areas.

We can plainly see from the get go, in April 2013, the promise that all Australians would have the NBN on by 2016. That promise did not even last until Christmas that year. So this is a government that sold out the bush when they sold off Telstra, sold out the bush on wholesale pricing, and sold— (Time expired)

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