Kim Wilkie (Swan, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise this evening to support the important new nation-building initiative announced today by the Leader of the Opposition regarding the future of Australia’s broadband infrastructure. This initiative will be nothing short of a revolution in Australia’s lagging broadband services. It will ensure that our businesses will no longer be hindered by substandard services, it will ensure that all Australians, including our students, have access to the very best of information and it will help guarantee Australia’s continued economic prosperity. This initiative will drag Australia out of the broadband stone age and into the modern telecommunications era.

The current state of broadband infrastructure in my electorate and in Australia generally is a disgrace—stuck in the slow lane of the information superhighway. This is another stunning example of this government’s neglect of capital infrastructure investment. The simple fact is that, in this rapidly globalising world of ever-increasing interconnectedness, state-of-the-art telecommunications infrastructure is vital for continued dynamic economic growth.

Every day, the internet continues to change the way we go about our everyday business. It changes the way in which we communicate with each other, the way commerce is conducted, the way we learn and educate and the way we enjoy entertainment. It is fair to say that, in the relatively short time frame in which the internet has existed, it has revolutionised almost every aspect of our lives. How the internet will change our lives in the future is anybody’s guess, but we must be prepared to meet those changes head-on.

While other nations, such as Japan, South Korea, the US and Canada, have moved forward with a rapid acceleration in the deployment of fibre based networks, Australia continues to lag far behind. This is a totally unacceptable situation. As one of Australia’s leading business figures, Rupert Murdoch, recently stated:

We’re being left behind and we’ll pay for it.

Currently, Australia is ranked a measly 17th in the world in broadband take-up rates, a position that is likely to slide further in the coming years unless we act quickly and decisively. And this is precisely what Labor’s initiative is all about: decisive action to shift the Australian economy into the 21st century. If Australia is to remain a globally competitive player in the 21st century, this sorry state of affairs cannot continue. We simply must invest the necessary resources to bring Australia up to speed. We must ensure that this vital area of economic infrastructure is at a world standard and we must ensure that Australia’s national interests in this technological age are secured. And this is what Labor will do.

By investing up to $4.7 billon over a five-year period to establish the national broadband network in partnership with the private sector, Labor’s plan will deliver the internet services needed for our future vitality. No longer will businesses from my electorate of Swan be forced to relocate their premises simply to have the ‘privilege’ of access to a decent broadband network. No longer will residents from my electorate be told that if they wish to have broadband access all they have to do is go out and buy a satellite dish or move to another street or suburb.

With Labor’s plan, 98 per cent of Australians will have access to state-of-the-art telecommunications services 40 times faster than current speeds. That is a win for the people of Swan and a win for all Australians. Rather than the clapped-out jalopy that the government so haphazardly steers down the slow lane of the information superhighway, Labor’s plan is to head down that highway in the latest energy-efficient supercar of the future.

And yet, on an issue that will fundamentally determine the future economic prospects of this nation, we continually hear the Prime Minister harp on about taking money from the Future Fund, about not wanting to make life harder for future generations. What the Prime Minister has failed to recognise is that high-speed broadband is the future and, by underinvesting in our telecommunications infrastructure, that is precisely what he is doing: making life harder for future generations. The Prime Minister sometimes reminds me of the advert where the father tells his son that the Chinese built their Great Wall to keep the rabbits out because he is uneducated and does not know any better.

Not so long ago, I am sure, the Prime Minister would have used an abacus. He may have by now upgraded to a slide rule, perhaps even a calculator, but I doubt very much that he has moved steadfastly into the computer age. And so, like the carrier pigeon before him, the Prime Minister’s utility in this technological age is over. It is high time that he either gets out of the way or adapts himself to the modern era and starts thinking strategically about this nation’s future needs. Currently we are falling ever behind other developed nations in broadband take-up and internet speeds, and we will fall even further behind if this sorry state of affairs is not fixed. Fortunately Labor has a plan for the future, a plan that will elevate Australia from a world dinosaur in telecommunications to a world leader. (Time expired)