Elizabeth Watson-Brown (Ryan, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

In 2024, access to the internet should be a universal, basic right—access to the technology and infrastructure that enables every person in Australia to work, to study and to stay connected. But, unfortunately, here in Australia we're falling woefully short of that standard. Decades of government cost-cutting, privatisation and corporatisation of our essential services have degraded our internet infrastructure. In Ryan, my electorate, many people are still dealing with the fallout of the botched NBN upgrades, frustrated that they can't watch a movie with their family, work or study from home or play games with their friends, despite paying some of the highest prices in the world for home internet.

What's really frustrating is that it didn't have to be like this. The NBN could have been affordable and accessible for everyone, providing gold-standard internet access right across Australia. So how did we get here, in this almighty mess? It started with previous governments' disastrous decisions that led to the privatisation of Telstra in the nineties. This left us without the basic bones to deliver high-speed broadband. It's such a common and sad story—the government selling off yet another essential public asset and good to a for-profit corporation, setting the stage for cost blowouts, delays and the chaotic rollout we've been stuck with ever since.

This was compounded by the government's decision to set up the NBN as a public corporation that had to turn a profit early in the rollout. So what we got was higher consumer prices and poorly prioritised rollout strategies. Then, in 2013, the LNP slashed funding and gave us a multitechnology mix, a kind of Frankenstein's monster, a network of copper wires and outdated hybrid fibre coaxial, or HFC, completely inadequate for meeting modern internet demands. Here we are with unreliable, subpar internet in too many homes in Ryan and in so many places throughout Australia. Take The Gap or Mitchelton. Residents there are still stuck with the HFC, dealing with absolutely abysmal speeds. A recent survey I ran in Ryan showed that over 60 per cent of respondents are unhappy with their internet, with nearly 20 per cent saying it's very, very slow. To make matters worse, 40 per cent of respondents aren't even getting the speeds they're paying for, so they're stuck paying high prices for a subpar service in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis. We're stuck relying on outdated technology that simply cannot deliver; half of Ryan is reporting unreliable internet with frequent dropouts. Australia is falling behind while other nations are embracing fibre to the premises, the gold standard we should have had right from the start.

It's not just speed and reliability; it's the cost. Over 74 per cent of the respondents to my survey said that their internet is just too expensive. That's a huge number of people in my community being ripped off while—to rub salt in those wounds—corporate executives line their pockets. Telstra CEO Vicki Brady made $5.25 million, Optus CEO Kelly Bayer Rosmarin made over $5 million and former NBN boss Stephen Rue made $3 million—all of this during a cost-of-living crisis while people in Kenmore and The Gap can't even just hold a simple Zoom call without the internet dropping out on them.

Internet access is essential infrastructure, just like roads or public transport. It should be affordable and accessible for everyone. That's why we fought to keep the NBN in public hands. It was the Greens who protected the NBN from being sold off. We secured the amendments to keep it public because we know that internet access is far too important to leave in the hands of for-profit corporate giants. The NBN should serve all Australians and not become a cash cow for a select few. The Greens will consider this bill and move for a Senate inquiry to make sure all Australians have access to an affordable and functioning NBN.

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