Louise Markus (Greenway, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Veterans' Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to voice my concern at the failure of the Rudd Labor government to assure people living in broadband and mobile black spots about the quality of services they will receive under the government’s $43 billion national broadband plan. Under this plan, some areas will apparently get 100 megabits per second fibre to their premises, while those living in regional and rural areas will receive services delivered by wireless and satellite that will be almost 10 times slower. I am concerned that over 5,000 people are in broadband black spot areas in my electorate. Areas such as Agnes Banks, Freemans Reach, Kurmond, Kurrajong Heights, Londonderry, Marsden Park, Pitt Town, Vineyard, Yarramundi and Colo Heights will either miss out or have to take an inferior service.

The Rudd Labor government refuses to release coverage maps to show which parts of Australia will get what service or where the funding will come from. Despite grand promises and announcements by the Rudd Labor government that it would commence rolling out new broadband services across Australia as recently as 1 July 2009, nothing has happened. This is typical Labor: a lot of announcements but not much action. The $43 billion broadband proposal will take at least eight years to implement and will be funded predominantly from government debt. Adding to the problem is a massive $35 billion gross debt created by Labor’s economic mismanagement—the equivalent of $9,000 for every man, woman and child in Australia.

Australia’s broadband future is paying the price for Labor’s reckless spending. I will continue to hold the Rudd Labor government to account over its broadband promises and raise the issues of coverage and broadband black spot areas until something is done. When in government, the coalition had a broadband guarantee program—a program that provided subsidised support—(Time expired)