House debates

Tuesday, 19 November 2024

Bills

National Broadband Network Companies Amendment (Commitment to Public Ownership) Bill 2024; Second Reading

5:37 pm

Photo of Madeleine KingMadeleine King (Brand, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Northern Australia) Share this | Hansard source

The National Broadband Network Companies Amendment (Commitment to Public Ownership) Bill 2024 will ensure that NBN Co remains in public hands. It enshrines into law the Albanese Labor government's commitment to retain public ownership of the NBN and prevent the coalition from selling it down the track—and we know they want to; they've said it before. Nothing is off the table when it comes to the coalition funding its expensive and uncosted nuclear power plants for this country, so there's no doubt NBN will be part of that story, and this government will make sure that does not happen.

The NBN is vital for northern Australia, where slow and patchy internet connection restricts the region's ability to reach its full potential in a modern Australia. Many communities in the north are underserved by telecommunications providers because of higher costs and lower population density. That means people in the north sometimes suffer connectivity blackspots and network congestion. This government is taking action to address these problems, because these problems limit how the people of the north are able to run a business, access education, and connect with friends and family around the world.

While the most recent Australian Digital Inclusion Index, the 2023 index, shows that the difference between states and territories has narrowed, the Northern Territory still ranks the lowest. That is simply not fair, and it must change. The importance of digital connectivity to the Northern Territory and northern Australia is why the Northern Australia Ministerial Forum has made this a focus issue to address. I re-established the forum to work together with the Queensland, Western Australian and Northern Territory governments to drive social and economic outcomes right across northern Australia. At our first meeting, in 2022 in Darwin, it was agreed that digital connectivity is one of the 14 pillars for achieving the forum's goal of supporting livable, safe and healthy communities in the north. Digital access and affordability has been at the top of the forum's discussions ever since, and we have been taking action.

The Albanese government is addressing the forum's concerns by delivering fast, accessible and reliable internet access right across northern Australia. We're doing that through our $2.4 billion investment in the NBN fibre upgrade program, which includes better services for 236,000 households right across the north. It will swap slow copper wire with fast fibre cable and give northern Australia speeds of up to one gigabit per second. The coalition, as we know, bought over 60,000 kilometres of copper, enough to wrap around the planet 1½ times—a dreadful waste that shows again how they choose to live in the past. The Albanese Labor government is rolling out a better connectivity plan for regional and rural Australia worth $1.1 billion. It includes $480 million for the NBN fixed wireless and satellite upgrade program to switch 120,000 homes from satellite connectivity to fixed wireless. It will upgrade over 2,300 towers and boost internet speeds to up to 100 megabits per second.

The Albanese Labor government is also working with remote First Nations communities across northern Australia to deliver free community wi-fi by the end of the year. This is a game-changing program. It's a $20 million program that includes the Gangan community in the Northern Territory, the Kowanyama community in Queensland and the Mindi Rardi community in Western Australia. Free wi-fi in these remote communities in the north will boost opportunities for education and jobs and improve access to services and information. The north deserves the same internet speed and access that the rest of the country enjoys, and this government is determined to bridge that digital divide to ensure northern Australia gets the same digital connection that the rest of Australia expects. The NBN is nation-building infrastructure and is essential to the health, safety and prosperity of northern Australians just as it is for the communities in the south.

All across Australia, communities rightly expect and deserve high-speed broadband for our modern digital economy. In my electorate of Brand in Western Australia, families rely on fast Internet as a part of their daily lives. We rely on it every single day. Kids need for their schoolwork or for catching up with friends. Homes need it to run household appliances like solar panels. In my house, of course, we need it to be able to stream music and videos. Business depends on the internet for orders, payments, management and communication systems. It's integral to modern life. The Albanese Labor government understands how important fast and affordable internet is to Western Australians and the people of Brand.

Seven years ago in 2017, a long time ago now, I hosted then shadow minister Rowland in crisis talks with residents frustrated with the lack of internet coverage in the suburb of Baldivis. I heard one story of a child having to go to McDonald's to study, because it was the only place around with reliable wi-fi. I launched an online petition for better internet connection in Brand that received nearly 600 signatures, but the coalition government at the time refused to fix it.

The opposition sat on their hands, but this government is rolling out fast and affordable internet to Baldivis and, indeed, the whole Brand electorate. The $2.4 billion NBN fibre upgrade program will give an extra 1.5 million households access to full fibre, including 50,000 homes in Brand. It will swap slow copper wire—you know: the stuff that's going to go around the planet 1½ times. It will swap that outdated technology with fast fibre cables so the people of Brand can enjoy speeds of up to one gigabit per second. We're rolling out fast fibre internet in Brand so more Western Australians can enjoy the benefits of the NBN in the outer suburbs.

The Labor government also launched the School Student Broadband Initiative in February 2023 to provide free internet for 30,000 families across Australia who can't afford home broadband. It's narrowing the digital divide by ensuring that all students can get online at home to do their homework. It's helping families with the cost of living by saving them thousands of dollars through a free NBN connection. While the opposition's NBN forced a child in Baldivis to study in McDonald's, the Albanese government is helping every student access fast internet at home.

It's an excellent program, and I urge everyone who hasn't seen it, and needs it, to apply and get involved. It's free internet for your kids to do their schoolwork.

The other Albanese Labor government is able to deliver upgrades to the NBN because it is in public hands. It means we have the levers we need to plan ahead for the ongoing digital transformation that's sweeping through homes and businesses across Australia. But the NBN isn't safe from privatisation, because there's nothing we know of that the coalition won't privatise, and we know that the NBN is certainly on their hit list.

The former coalition government even asked the ACCC to let the NBN significantly increase its prices to fatten it up for a sale. The NBN already has a monopoly and selling it would risk future hikes in prices and drops in services and quality. The Albanese Labor government will keep the NBN in public ownership to safeguard Australia's long-term economic and security interests. The government started this process in 2022 by issuing an updated statement of expectations that confirmed a strong intent to keep NBN Co in public hands.

After a decade of uncertainty under the former coalition government, Labor has provided the NBN with the assurance it needed to continue improving the network, while keeping prices affordable. This bill will give all Australians even more peace of mind, by enshrining this commitment in law. This bill makes it clear that keeping the NBN in public hands is non-negotiable. It also removes all provisions in the NBN companies act relating to a sale of NBN Co. This will support ongoing upgrades to the network and keep up with rapid technological change. It will ensure strong regulation of NBN wholesale pricing to keep broadband affordable for all Australians.

Labor established the NBN as a secure and reliable digital backbone to provide fast and affordable conductivity for every Australian. Now, after a decade of wasted time from the coalition, the Albanese Labor government is making that goal a reality. We'll also keep the NBN in public hands so broadband stays fast, affordable and accessible for all Australians, including the people of Brand, right across all the suburbs of Rockingham and Kwinana and all of Western Australia as well.

When Labor takes Australia forward, we need to stop the coalition from trying to take us five steps back, which is every single time they get their chance. I'm proud of a government that puts people first and will put the NBN first so that people can ensure they have the access they need to digital technologies to ensure their future is made right here, in Australia.

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