Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Senator Fifield has claimed that the Prime Minister's copper NBN is 'the envy of the world'. Given that the Prime Minister is personally responsible for the highest level of internet complaints on record, a $20 billion cost blowout and a copper network that can't deliver the speeds that Australians want or need, isn't it clear that the only thing that the Prime Minister has achieved is to make the internet speeds at Point Piper the envy of the rest of Australia?

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

I want to thank the Leader of the Opposition for demonstrating his enthusiasm for his politics of envy and his phony class war. It reminds me of the address he gave to the CFMEU workers at Oakey. There he was saying the Fair Work Commission that his government, the Labor government, established was a 'cancer' that had to be excised. He was backing those striking CFMEU members right at the time when they were threatening other Glencore workers with violence against their children. That was the company he was keeping and the people he was backing. He was there with the member for Gorton and said: 'I thank you for inviting Brendan and I. I'm spewing to see you in these difficult circumstances.' I think the only spewing that would have gone on was when seeing the Leader of the Opposition in his fake man of the people, horny-handed son of toil, workers' champion—

Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Manager of Opposition Business (House)) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I raise a point of order on direct relevance. While I appreciate that the question—

Government members interjecting—

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

Could the Manager of Opposition Business just pause for a second. Could those on my right cease interjecting, including the Leader of the House.

Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Manager of Opposition Business (House)) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

While a question like this always does give a wide scope for the answer, we've gone completely beyond the policy topic in the Prime Minister's answer and well away from anything that could be considered even vaguely relevant to the question.

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

As I've said before, the Prime Minister and other ministers are entitled to compare and contrast. The Prime Minister, for a period there, linked to a word in the question and made an observation with respect to the word 'envy', which he's entitled to do. But I do agree with the Manager of Opposition Business that the Prime Minister needs to come back to the policy topic now he's compared and contrasted.

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

I will just conclude with some information from the NBN. The average speed across the fibre-to-the-node part of the NBN is almost 70 megabits per second and 80 per cent of users take up a 12-megabit-per-second or 25-megabit-per-second plan. I would remind honourable members opposite that coaxial cable is made out of copper, and so the coaxial cable that goes into premises in HFC areas has been there for a very long time. It is what the honourable member for Greenway recently described as being second rate. It is a copper technology and, where it is available, which is currently at 1.4 million premises, it can offer a speed of 100 megabits per second. Regrettably, not enough people take that up. The NBN would be very grateful for the extra revenue.

I would also say, in reference to the question from the member for Denison—I'm sorry he's not here—about his constituent in Fern Tree that he referred to, I'm advised by the NBN that they have just called him and advised him his premises are ready for service.