Graham Perrett (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I'm the fifth person to speak on the National Broadband Network Companies Amendment (Commitment to Public Ownership) Bill. However, I am only the third to talk about the NBN! The member for Casey and the member for Banks are incredible. That's half an hour of my life that I will never get back because I had to listen to them—and they can't even spell NBN! Unbelievable! It reminded me—I'm actually old enough to remember; the member for Casey probably isn't—that we used to have this thing where we would dial up to get the internet. Your speeches were like that sound—I could just hear it in my head—when you didn't get through. You tried to get a connection, but it just didn't work. Your horse-and-buggy copper is really last century. Unfortunately, the NBN needed to be of this century.

I was here in the 43rd parliament. I've been around for a while. In fact, I ran for the election 20 years ago today. I got a second prize. I see Tony Burke, Chris Bowen, Justine Elliot and Steve Georganas. I wish them all well for their 20-year anniversaries. I remember what it was like in the 43rd parliament and how a farmer called Tony Windsor, a great man who served this country, understood the benefits of the NBN for farmers. He actually said, 'This will be a benefit for the modern-day farmer, for the modern-day miner and for education,' as the Prime Minister touched on. Every modern-day student will benefit from having a fibre network where they're sitting doing their homework or where they're at university—even if they're sitting and doing university work beside the Brisbane River or wherever it is. That's what the NBN enables.

I just wanted to point out to the member for Casey and the member for Banks that this NBN is a National Broadband Network. Why is it national? That's because we saw that we couldn't let the market do it. Prime Minister Rudd, a Queenslander, and Treasurer Swan—I think we particularly understood because we come from a decentralised state, where half of the people of Queensland live outside the south-east corner. Those Queenslanders understood the benefits of that fibre network. I know you all want to hear my speech, and I will have a lot more to say about it later today.

See this speech in context