Luke Simpkins (Cowan, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today I would like to once again speak about a modern problem, a problem that concerns many of my constituents in Cowan. It is a problem—well, a challenge—that has become such an essential part of modern life that it is essentially hard to operate without it, and the problem is internet connectivity. This is not the first time I have raised this issue in federal parliament, and it will not be the last until I secure the best possible deal for local residents.

Although a majority of my electorate registers above or around the national average for internet connectivity, there remain a number of areas in which connectivity is poor, and not a week or, dare I say, a day goes by where I do not receive an email, a phone call or a letter from a constituent raising their concerns over slow internet speeds, lack of port availability, no internet connection at all or having to use 4G connections in business and homes because conventional plans are not available to them, and, of course, the perennial problem of distance from exchange. However, already nearly 10,000 premises in Cowan have been listed on NBN's national rollout plan, which serves as a good starting point for more work to be done. Regardless of the causes which prompt residents to contact me in my office, action has been taken and will continue to be taken to get the best possible results for Cowan.

From my doorknocking I already know much about this problem and the real problems residents face. In Western Australia, Labor's plan to start the NBN down in the southern suburbs did not address priority areas and led to the delay of work reaching my electorate of Cowan. As has been shown around the country, they were hopelessly behind schedule and over budget, just like the way they ran the nation's economy. I asked local residents to be aware of false promises or shortcuts from Labor representatives who did not deliver the NBN after six years of talk. I believe that there were 35 addresses connected at the time of the election back in 2013—that is 35 in Western Australia.

From my work I continue to meet with the Minister for Communications regarding internet connectivity issues in Cowan, our most recent meeting being just last week when I met with the Hon. Malcolm Turnbull and Parliamentary Secretary the Hon. Paul Fletcher to discuss the priority needs of residents in Cowan. That is why later this month we will be holding a communications forum in Cowan to discuss residents' concerns directly. Previously, I have outlined meetings with Telstra, NBN and Optus as we have discussed what plans have been put in place to allow for current communication issues to be alleviated and what planning was being put in place for the future. From these meetings I understand poor service is a problem of the distance from the exchange and the cost of upgrading those exchanges. Telstra Wholesale is responsible for providing broadband to customers of the retail providers. If consumers and residents need a better service, it is a formal process in which they should contact their preferred service provider for internet connection, and then they will run a service qualification for their address and determine what options are available to them. If residents cannot get the connection they desire, they need to register and stay on a waitlist in that system so Telstra Wholesale can see from their back end the genuine need for a service in the specified area.

Work is being done to represent my constituents' genuine needs and will continue to be done. I certainly take this issue very seriously. On a number of occasions, I have successfully—with Telstra and the Minister for Communications—alleviated the number of telecommunications issues within Cowan. Furthermore, the government has made reforms to the NBN that will allow it to be delivered sooner, at less expense to taxpayers and more affordably for consumers.

In my electorate local councillors and Labor Party members Hugh Nguyen and Domenic Zappa, continue to scaremonger residents into thinking that nothing is being done on internet connection and other federal issues, and that residents' interests are not being represented by these so-called local government representatives. However, nothing could be further from the truth. As a local resident in my electorate who has the same issues as other residents, I found it absurd when they invited a Labor Party senator from Victoria Park, 25 minutes away from my electorate, and a shadow minister from Sydney to address local needs when they could not address them at all in the six years they were in government.

In fact, during the six years of Labor, Telstra would not commit to some necessary upgrades, because they were always waiting for the plan of NBN before deciding if the upgrade was necessary. The Minister for Communications highlighted these inadequacies perfectly at the NBN corporate plan press conference. He said:

The project which we inherited from the Labor Party in 2013 had failed. Construction had stalled if not stopped in many parts of the country.

…   …   …

At the time of the election it had missed every single target it had set, and by a very wide margin. It is now meeting its targets. It is now available to over 10 per cent of Australian premises. By June 30 next year the corporate plan shows it will be available to one in four Australian premises. By 2018, the corporate plan shows that it will be available to about three quarters of Australian premises. This project is moving along and moving quickly

The minister went on to explain the great efforts of NBN Co in turning around this disastrous project and the benefits the move to a multitechnology mix has made:

As you know, the company resolved and the Government supported moving to what is called a multi-technology mix as opposed to undertaking an all fibre-to-the-premises build in the fixed line footprint. At the time this was looked at in the strategic review in December 2013, the conclusion of that review was that the all fibre approach would take four years longer and cost around $30 billion more … nobody knows more than the NBN because no one has done as much of it as the NBN Co now has.

So with all of that new information, new experience and really current insight into the construction process, the NBN Co has concluded that its peak funding requirement under the current model is between 46 and $56 billion, and their base case is $49 billion. And this is around $30 billion less than what it would cost to go down the route the Labor Party had set the company on when it was in government.

Over the next year to mid-2016, NBN will upgrade 1.9 million premises. The government has made reforms to the NBN that will allow it to be delivered sooner, at less expense to taxpayers and more affordably for consumers.

I understand the communications problems people face within Cowan, which is why I am committed to meeting with each stakeholder, including relevant ministers, in order to get the best possible result for Cowan. As more information is released on the rollout, my office will be working with NBN Co to inform Australians about what they can expect.

The NBN is a nationwide project that will be completed by 2020. Unfortunately, it is not possible to get to every neighbourhood in the next 18 months; however, Cowan has near 10,000 premises already connected, and I will continue to talk with, listen and represent the interests of residents in Cowan to make sure those experiencing problems are assisted at a national level to the minister and at a local level to Telstra Wholesale and Telstra retail.

Furthermore, I encourage local residents to continue to demand better services from providers and apply for the waitlists as this will demonstrate real needs in suburbs. NBN Co, this government and I are committed to ensuring the public has as much information about the rollout and telecommunications as possible, and we will look for opportunities to provide further certainty. For an update on the state of the rollout anyone can visit the NBN's online maps at www.nbnco.com.au/maps.

This is an issue in Cowan. I have been working on it for a long time. It has been a cause of concern for a long time. There is no doubt about that. I remember that before I was elected there were forums on this matter being held. But at last we can see that there is some light at the end of the tunnel and there is progress being made. I am determined to get the best possible result for the people of Cowan so that the people and businesses of Cowan can participate in the best possible framework of a well-connected community.