Bruce Billson (Dunkley, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Broadband, Communication and the Digital Economy) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Does the Prime Minister stand by his election commitment to deliver a minimum 12-megabit broadband service to 98 per cent of Australian households and premises for between $8 billion and $10 billion?

Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Our commitment prior to the election was 12 megabits per second for 98 per cent of the country. We said we would be making an investment from the public resource in excess of $4 billion and we would do so in partnership with the private sector. We stand by that commitment; there is a competitive process underway. It is the right way ahead because we believe in investing in the future. As I said to this House yesterday, this government is not prepared to stand idly by while this country’s available bandwidth and speed languishes between the Slovak Republic and Slovenia. That is where those opposite left us; we intend to make a difference.