Sharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Labor's National Broadband Network was to deliver superfast broadband to the front door of 93 per cent of all Australians. It was the most important infrastructure project of the next decade, a true nation-building project. It was to change the lives of residents in our cities and regions alike. High-speed broadband internet access is today a utility; not a luxury.

Like electricity, gas and water, it is an essential service. Children cannot go through school without it. Businesses rely on it to trade, advertise and deliver customer service. Innovators and researchers use broadband to connect with others around the world, as they search for major scientific breakthroughs or compete in the global digital economy. Any nation in the world that does not have reliable, fast internet access will fall drastically behind, locally and globally.

Prior to the election of this government, my electorate of Newcastle was due to have 100 per cent coverage of fibre to all premises by the end of 2016. Superfast access would connect them to the rest of the country and the world. Every home, school, hospital, health clinic and business was set to be connected. Construction on the network commenced in the suburb of Mayfield last year. Planned works and interchange upgrades were underway or completed in New Lambton and Hamilton. Some residents in Thornton, Stockton and Beresfield were to benefit from the broadband access for the first time. That is right. There are still places in Newcastle, a major regional economic hub, that have no broadband access whatsoever. Digital economy leaders have made major business decisions to locate themselves in Newcastle. Our city's size, diversity and population make it an ideal location to run major technology trials. Not only is Newcastle missing out on superfast fibre-to-the-premises broadband, this government has wiped my electorate entirely off their new rollout maps.

Last week, I welcomed a visit from the shadow communications minister, Jason Clare, who wanted to see the situation for himself and to hear directly from residents and business men and women in Newcastle. We went to Mayfield, the suburb I mentioned earlier, which is about five kilometres west of Newcastle's CBD. NBN Co had commenced construction in that area last year. I had residents contact me during the election campaign, excited that there was activity in the area with the NBN Co trucks starting work in their streets. It turns out their excitement was premature.

When this government came to office, they called the trucks back in and cancelled all of the work in the suburb. Rather than making plans to see which superfast broadband package would suit their needs best, Mayfield residents now visit NBN Co's online rollout, if they have access to internet in the first place, and plug-in their addresses only to receive the following message:

The NBN rollout has not started in your area. Keep checking the website for updates and more information.

It is a source of endless frustration for residents. They saw on their street trucks with NBN Co written on the side one day, and now the message, from the same organisation, under this new government, says rollout has not commenced.

This government is creating a digital divide of haves and have-nots. The residents of Mayfield, like the broader electorate of Newcastle, have been designated into the have-nots basket. The digital economy leaders that the shadow communications minister and I met the other day were frustrated, as were the residents of Mayfield. We learnt that mining engineers and geologists are forced to physically deliver data files on USB sticks in a five-hour dangerous road trip to and from work sites. This is hardly 21st century best practice. Large data files and video files are being couriered or driven one hour or more to the Central Coast to access the 'big pipe', as they call it—areas where fibre to the premise is already available. Businesses wanted to base themselves in Newcastle, but are being forced to consider relocating their businesses elsewhere. Again, I remind you, this is not an issue about fast music download or streaming TV. High-speed broadband, today, is an essential service enabling access to a global digital economy, providing health care to those who are less mobile or who are isolated and making sure children get the best quality education they deserve.

The people of Newcastle deserve to be on a level playing field. We are the second-largest city in New South Wales. We are not an outpost—we are just 150 kilometres from the centre of Sydney. We need a fast, reliable, affordable broadband service. We cannot afford to be left behind. I call on this government to give residents and businesses the assurance they deserve by releasing their rollout maps for the broadband network. We deserve better.