David Smith (Bean, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

At the start of the year my local Labor colleagues and I wrote to the minister for communications calling for improved NBN infrastructure in the nation's capital. Canberra's NBN infrastructure is undoubtedly the worst of all the capital cities. The network is comprised of more than 70 per cent fibre to the node, higher than other major urban centres around the nation. It's inferior to fibre to the premises or to the kerb and it doesn't deliver the performance that a modern broadband network should. Canberrans are not the only ones who are frustrated. Australia has slipped to 59th in the world on broadband speeds and ranks 32nd out of 37 OECD nations. This is not good enough. It's a drag on our economy, it has undermined the competitiveness of small business and it has left sectors like health and education reliant on patchy, outdated technology. Furthermore, this government promised to deliver the NBN for $29.5 billion. Their patchwork of second-rate technologies has cost nearly double this amount. We have a second-rate network that has cost twice as much as promised, a clear demonstration of the government's technological and economic incompetence. Labor will fix this mess. We understand the need for world-class digital infrastructure in the post-COVID economy for schools, small business, regional communities and growing industries such as advanced manufacturing. Labor's plan to boost fibre and fast-track NBN repair will deliver and it will create 12,000 construction jobs along the way.

People in my electorate of Bean know first-hand that we have the most to lose from inaction on climate change. One only has to look at the summer bushfires of 2020 to see the evidence. But my community also knows that we have the most to gain both locally and globally from climate change action. We are a territory powered 100 per cent by renewable energy, a target that's driving investment in our region and bringing jobs to the economy. The world is moving rapidly towards renewable energy, and we have a once-in-a-generation opportunity for Australia to jump ahead of the pack. But Prime Minister Morrison is leaving Australia increasingly isolated on the world stage on climate policy. We on this side care about outcomes, not just announcements. We on this side care about conviction, not just convenience. We will underpin our climate change policy with four key principles: net zero emissions by 2050 with a strong road map to get there; ambition backed by policy; understanding that climate policy is good jobs policy; and understanding that regions, including our capital region, will get a set of those policies. We will take action that will create jobs, drive investment, cut power prices and reduce our emissions. The truth is—and it's time for honesty—we have to stop toxic politics and start addressing one of the great challenges this nation has faced. The opportunity is there, and Labor is ready to work with our communities to embrace it.

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