Fiona Martin (Reid, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

The member for Parramatta is entirely mistaken. There is not one business fibre zone in Western Sydney; there are, in fact, 22 business fibre zones across Western Sydney and the Blue Mountains, covering an expected 66,353 businesses. NBN Co announced the first 130 business fibre zones on 22 September 2020 and a further 110 zones on 26 October. This information is readily available on the NBN website. This includes business fibre zones in my electorate, Reid. In bustling Burwood and Ashfield, there are 4,106 business fibre zones. In the Homebush-Lidcombe area, there are 4,205 business fibre zones, and in the busy manufacturing hub of Silverwater there are 1,446 business fibre zones.

In September 2020, Minister Fletcher announced a $4.5 billion NBN network investment plan, which will give up to 75 per cent of fixed-line premises across regional and metropolitan Australia access to ultrafast broadband by 2023. This will occur via a continuation of the multitechnology model of this government. This is the same model that has been used to deliver this enormous project efficiently and economically and in time for the extra demands placed on the network due to COVID-19. As part of this initiative, NBN Co is investing $700 million over the next three years to provide 90 per cent of all Australian businesses with access to symmetrical business-grade fibre at no upfront cost. NBN Co will also provide CBD-equivalent wholesale enterprise ethernet pricing for around 700,000 businesses located within 240 business fibre zones, reducing wholesale pricing by up to 67 per cent for businesses outside major cities. This will include 85 business fibre zones in regional centres and 14 health precincts, with at least one in each state and territory.

Transforming the access and affordability of business-grade fibre and increasing competition and choice is critical to our economic recovery from COVID-19. This is a game changer for small and medium businesses. It will boost productivity, foster innovation and allow small- and medium-sized businesses to embrace opportunities for growth. The Enterprise Ethernet service available in those business fibre zones is NBN Co's highest-quality business-grade service, providing businesses with a choice of symmetrical speeds from 10 megabytes per second to close to one gigabyte per second, prioritised traffic and enhanced 24/7 customer support. Under the Business Fibre Initiative, businesses located within all 24 business fibre zones are now able to request a fibre upgrade from their retailer, and works are underway or have been completed in response to orders already received. For areas not located within the business fibre zones, NBN Co has established a $50 million fund to facilitate the creation of future zones in partnership with local government and other organisations.

This government will not be lectured to by those opposite on the NBN and certainly will not be lectured to by those on the other side about supporting small business. Labor's back-of-the-beer-coaster approach would have cost billions more, taken up to six years longer to complete and left millions of Australians behind during COVID-19. By contrast, this government has delivered the NBN efficiently and economically when Australians most needed it. There are currently over 11.9 million premises ready to connect. Over 99 per cent of Australian premises can now order an NBN service. More than eight million premises have already been connected to the NBN. Today, 70 per cent of homes and businesses are on 50-megabyte-per-second plans. Under this government, NBN was there for Australians. It stood up to the test of COVID-19, and it will continue to be a driving force in our strong economic recovery.

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