Michelle Rowland (Greenway, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Communications) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. NBN Co has recently revealed that it spent $177 million of taxpayers' money buying over 15 million metres of new copper. Why is the government still investing in 20th century copper when Australia needs a 21st century National Broadband Network?

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

The honourable member might reflect on the fact that the NBN Co is activating more customers every 10 days than the Labor Party did in six years—quite an accomplishment. Fifty-one thousand paying customers in six years—that's what Labor had. Had we persisted with Labor's failed project, it would have taken between six and eight years longer and $30 billion more. Right now, the project is on track—

Ms Owens interjecting—

Mr Champion interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Prime Minister will resume his seat. The level of interjections is far too high. The member for Parramatta is warned, as is the member for Wakefield. The Prime Minister will resume his answer.

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

Right now, the project is on track to be completed by 2020. It is on track. It's on budget. The rollout is proceeding on a scale never before seen in Australian telecommunications.

I want honourable members to understand that the government recognises that there have been concerns among customers about not getting the speed that they were advertised by their retail service providers. That has been a consequence, as the company has made clear, of the retail service providers, such as Telstra, Optus, TPG and dozens of others, not buying sufficient bandwidth from NBN Co to support their customer base. The company is taking steps to ensure that there is full transparency on that point—as, indeed, is the ACCC.

The NBN was one of the greatest train wrecks created by the Labor Party, and that's saying something. It was a shambles. What we have done is turn it around. We're getting it built and getting it completed. We are hearing honourable members stand up and somehow or other say that copper is bad—I mean, really! The honourable member, were she doing her homework, would know that right around the world telcos are rolling out broadband infrastructure on a multi-technology basis using fibre, copper and a combination of them. I really would expect the Labor Party to do better than this. They should focus on the real objective, which is to get every Australian connected. NBN Co is well on the way to doing that and to ensuring that customers get the service they order on the terms they are paying for. That's what we're seeking to do. Honourable members opposite would do well to abandon this Conrovian rhetoric of years ago and focus on the technology issues of today.