Louise Miller-Frost (Boothby, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Digital access is so important to our lives. While I and many in this place grew up in the precomputer age, nowadays those with poor or no access to the internet are significantly disadvantaged, and I can't imagine having to write a university assignment without the internet these days. Fast broadband is important for students, whether they're learning online, trying to research online or submitting assignments online, but fast broadband's also important to businesses. Retail businesses need to access the bank for financial transactions and perhaps expand their markets online, service based businesses operate online to gain and provide services nationally and internationally and there are simply the activities of running a business such as submitting BAS statements.

There is recreation, whether it's researching your family tree, streaming television shows, participating in online interest groups or being part of the 67 per cent of Australians who play online games. And, of course, so much of our daily lives interacting with government and other services now occurs online, whether it's dealing with myGov, My Aged Care, NDIS or telehealth.

Those households and businesses that are stranded on the old copper network are significantly disadvantaged. I'm sure, Deputy Speaker, that at some stage you've been in a situation where your internet has cut out at just the wrong time. You are five minutes away from finishing the last episode of your TV show or movie, two minutes away from submitting that crucial assignment, one click away from sending an email to your boss or trying to access government services like myGov, My Aged Care, the NDIS or telehealth, and then the internet fails. You frantically click at the button, reload the page, restart your device, but there's nothing you can do about it; you have to start again.

So I'm thrilled with the announcement to upgrade the NBN to fibre to the premises in the Boothby suburbs of Blackwood, Belair and Bellevue Heights. They join Hawthorn, Marion, Morphettville, Pasadena, Plympton Park, South Plympton and St Marys, which have all recently been upgraded. In total, 4,336 more properties in Blackwood, Belair and Bellevue Heights and neighbouring parts of Mayo will be upgraded to fibre to the premises. It will no doubt add a significant benefit to their ability to access the internet for work, study, recreation and their everyday lives. In our modern age, fast reliable broadband is vital for households and businesses. The Albanese Labor government is delivering.

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