Andrew Wilkie (Denison, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Communications. Minister, problems with the NBN rollout remain one of the most prevalent issues raised with me by constituents in the greater Hobart-Glenorchy-Taroona area. Minister, what is the situation exactly with the NBN in Denison, and what is the plan to finish the job? A detailed answer by suburb in my electorate, including time lines, and a comment about the situation in Tasmania more broadly would be very helpful. Thank you, Minister.

Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Minister for Communications) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for his question. The overall progress of the NBN rollout in Denison is that the fixed line network is now ready for service in areas covering 11,842 premises. It is under construction in areas covering 21,200 premises; and, looking to the 18-month rollout plan, which will begin in the next year, that will include areas covering 27,800 premises. That last part will be mostly fibre-to-the-node. That means that, by June next year, work on the NBN's fixed line network will be complete in areas covering 60,800 premises in the honourable member's electorate. Virtually no other electorate in Australia will be as advanced as Denison in terms of the NBN rollout. It is impractical to outline each suburb and its upgrade timetable, but I will give the honourable member details of that later in writing.

Moving to the complaints about the NBN rollout, I will break them into four categories: firstly, the hold on the rollout due to the mismanagement of how asbestos material was removed from old infrastructure; secondly, the halt of the construction due to a commercial dispute—

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Minister for Communications) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Madam Speaker, I am seeking to provide an answer to an honourable member about his electorate. The opposition have so little respect for honourable members—

Opposition members interjecting—

If there was an opportunity for the people of Tasmania to understand how little regard the Labor Party have, look at the pathetic way they are treating the honourable member for Denison and his constituents and the people of Tasmania.

Ms Anna Burke (Chisholm, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I am surprised the member for Denison has not raised the issue of relevance to the question, and I would ask the minister to return to it.

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I think the interjection that said that the member for Denison could not hear it was probably quite accurate. I would have some silence on my left and right; otherwise, those people who are clearly seeking an early plane and an early mark will be able to leave perhaps as a group.

Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Minister for Communications) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Asbestos issue. The NBN Co and its contractors and Telstra are dealing with that very effectively. The last complaint from members of the public in Tasmania to Comcare about asbestos was in June last year. There was clearly a massive problem with the contractors not making any money. Indeed, work stopped in Tasmania completely—dead stopped—well before the last federal election, because they were going broke doing the work. So we had to renegotiate all of those contracts. That has been done and work is now proceeding, as I have described.

One of the other big problems was that, in typical Conrovian manner, the Labor government was describing premises as being serviceable when they were not. We have reduced the number of unserviceable premises dramatically in Denison. It is down to only 1,500 premises, and they are being addressed even as we speak.