Julie Owens (Parramatta, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) recognises that Western Sydney is Australia's third largest economy, and accounted for more than half of Sydney's population growth from 2012 to 2018;

(2) notes that:

(a) jobs growth in Western Sydney has been increasingly limited to population-driven sectors like construction, which have been hit hard by COVID-19;

(b) there is a jobs deficit affecting Western Sydney's growing professional workforce, which is forced to commute long distances for employment;

(c) a fast, reliable internet connection is basic infrastructure that is needed to attract new businesses and industries, and therefore essential to promoting jobs growth in Western Sydney; and

(d) NBN's recent announcement of 130 'business fibre zones' includes four zones in suburbs on Sydney Harbour, but only one in Western Sydney, in Parramatta; and

(3) calls on the Government to urgently improve NBN connectivity for businesses and households to support sustainable jobs growth in Western Sydney.

I live in Australia's third-largest economy, Western Sydney, accounting for more than half of Sydney's population growth from 2012 to 2018. In fact, 52 per cent of Sydney's population growth was in Western Sydney. In 2018, there were 1.12 million employed residents in Western Sydney, bigger than the workforce in Adelaide and the workforce in Perth and about 10 per cent shy of Brisbane. Fourteen point five per cent of those workers were knowledge workers, a greater proportion than Adelaide, Perth or Brisbane—an extraordinarily skilled workforce and one of the largest workforces in the country.

But we have a jobs deficit in Western Sydney. Our growth in jobs is fuelled almost entirely—in fact, 80 per cent—by growth in population. The population grows, construction grows and that's where the jobs come from. But take out population growth jobs and there's very little else going on in Western Sydney. We have a jobs deficit that is large now and is growing. Around 300,000 workers leave Western Sydney daily—that was in 2018. They commute to the city—sometimes for an hour, an hour and a half or two hours one way—to get to work. Optimistic projections say that job deficit will grow, by 2036, to 420,000 people. If it continues at the current rate, there will be 560,000 people commuting an hour or more to get to work every single day. We need to do something about this, and we need to do it now.

One of the basic things that this government could have got right in the first place is the NBN. In my area of Western Sydney, I have people who don't even get 10 to 15 megabits per second download. They're more than 1.2 kilometres from the node, living in the capital of Western Sydney, and they've got 10 megabits per second, not counting the dropouts, which are daily—in fact, hourly. This is just not good enough. It's not good enough.

When I put this motion in, the NBN had announced 20 business fibre zones, of which only one was in Western Sydney, and it was in Parramatta. Since then, they've announced another 20, including in Guildford-Yennora, Silverwater, and the surrounds of Homebush and Lidcombe. But this is still a drop in the ocean when you look at the size of Western Sydney and the sheer number of people who will be working from home.

In 2018 the department of communications estimated that by 2026 the maximum Australian households made up of two adults and two children would need was 49-megabit download speeds in peak times, but the NBN and the government have got this wrong so many times. The department of communications, if you remember, said that in 2016 a download speed of 25 megabits would be enough. Now they're saying that in 2026 a download speed of 49 megabits will be enough. Let me tell the House that it's not just the speed you have; it's what your competitors have. We're slipping down the rankings; we're 60th now in speed. When we've got countries across the Ditch to the east and to the north with gigabit download speeds, that's who we have to compete with. Now, with proper NBN speeds, it doesn't matter which country you're sitting in when you're working. We know that already. The biggest businesses in Australia and the biggest businesses around the world have fragmented workforces spread across the globe. If we're going to sit on 49 megabits per second in five years time and our competitors are dealing with gigabits, we're just not going to be there. We need better than this.

We know now that the government have realised that they could have actually used fibre for less than they paid for copper; they finally released the report that shows that. We know they could have done that, and they didn't. We know they held to copper for political reasons too. It's really time to come to the party here and acknowledge that fibre is the way to go and make sure that every household gets it and not follow the government's current plan which says that only people who can afford a high speed get fibre and everybody else stays with copper. That is not good enough for Western Sydney. It's not good enough given our growth rate and it's not good enough given out jobs deficit. If they want to get serious about doing the right thing by Western Sydney, they'll deliver fibre to every household and they'll do it now.

David Gillespie (Lyne, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is there a seconder for the motion?

Stephen Jones (Whitlam, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I second the motion and reserve my right to speak.

Bert Van Manen (Forde, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As much as I have great respect for the member for Parramatta, I'm not going to stand in this place and be lectured to by those opposite about their cut-rate NBN that they rolled out and that was constructed and designed on the back of a beer coaster. The approach cost millions, and it would have taken more than six years longer to complete and left millions of Australians behind during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the latest published data, if the corporate plan under Labor were undertaken, in June 2020, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, there still would have been well over 1.2 million homes and businesses that could not order a service. That's 1.2 million people who would have missed out but who, under the plans that the government put in place, actually had access to the NBN. I think that's a great testament to the work that we as a government have done.

Even on their own numbers, Labor would have still left millions of Australians behind when broadband was needed most. In contrast, our approach has been to ensure that the NBN has been efficiently and economically delivered right across Australia. Today there are currently 11.9 million premises ready to connect, and over 99 per cent of Australian premises can now order an NBN service. More than eight million premises have already been connected to the NBN, and today 70 per cent of homes and businesses are on 50-megabit-per-second plans or higher. That is frequently the contrast in this place between the government and those opposite: we actually deliver for the Australian people, and those opposite talk about it.

It's because of this government's approach that we've seen the NBN be there for Australians when they needed it most. That happened almost overnight. Nobody saw that coming. That happened when we had to adapt to the way we worked, learned and accessed vital services and when we had to keep in touch with our families. It is the NBN rollout that this government has put together to fix up the back-of the-envelope job that those opposite did that has actually delivered for Australians. If the NBN had not been rolled out with the speed and purpose that it had under this government using all available technologies, millions of premises throughout Australia may have languished on ADSL speeds of eight megabits per second on average or endured the lockdown with no internet service at all.

I know that in my electorate of Forde, with the problems we were having in getting access to ADSL in the rapidly growing areas of my electorate, those new areas are now directly connected to the NBN, with fibre to the premises—they're not on copper—and that those services are working very, very well. Again, it's under this government that we have delivered for the Australian people through the rollout of the NBN.

I'm pleased to note that the member for Parramatta did acknowledge, in her contribution, that there are in fact 22 business fibre zones across Western Sydney, covering some 66,000-odd businesses. These cover electorates across Western Sydney. The business fibre zone network, in general, has also been very well received in my part of the world, where businesses are now seeing the opportunity to connect to high-speed fibre to continue to deliver the services that they need to deliver to grow their business—

Julie Owens (Parramatta, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

They won't get the NBN till March 2022!

Bert Van Manen (Forde, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Member for Parramatta, I'll take the interjection, but we listened to your contribution without interjections, so I'd appreciate the same—

Ms Owens interjecting—

David Gillespie (Lyne, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order, please! The member for Parramatta, if you could have the decency to let the other member speak.

Bert Van Manen (Forde, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Here's the beauty of that comment: it's this side of the House that is actually delivering for the Australian people. Those opposite talked about it. It still wouldn't have been here. It wasn't going to arrive by 2022; it was going to arrive by 2025-26, I seem to remember. Once again, I can safely stand in this place and say that it is the Morrison government that is delivering for the Australian people. We do what we say we're going to do; the other side just talks about it.

Chris Hayes (Fowler, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank my friend the member for Parramatta for raising this important motion. I also thank the Chief Government Whip, but they had to get a member from Brisbane to talk about Western Sydney.

This is critical because we're at a point in time when we are recovering; we're trying to rebuild from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. For us as a nation, this requires a lot of activity. We often hear people talk in this place about the importance of Western Sydney. We talk about it as a centre of population and economic growth, which it is. In my capacity as the member for Fowler, which is next door to the member for Werriwa's seat, I have the great privilege of seeing firsthand the great work that our communities are doing to achieve strong economic and also cultural growth throughout Western Sydney. I've seen the benefits to our community of what we can achieve when we work together.

Essentially, our work is to make sure that our areas remain competitive and continue to grow and prosper, taking advantage of the abundant economic opportunities we have in our region. The NBN is one of those crucial aspects of infrastructure that unlock that potential for areas such as mine. It also includes the understanding that we must have adequate industry growth profiles in Western Sydney, particularly in relation to events, manufacture, construction, transport, logistics, professional services, retail and health. They are all subject to significant growth if we can provide the right infrastructure, and much of that comes through being able to use the NBN. That's why it is so critical in terms of the rollout in Western Sydney, because, after all, this is the third-biggest growth centre in the country at the moment. It is an area where we want people to be able to get jobs and to be able to work closer to home, because otherwise we won't be able to build trains long enough or roads wide enough to get people to and from the CBD of Sydney.

This is a major development that's occurring. It's all very well that people want to chant the benefits of the Western Sydney airport, which will be good, as will its neighbouring aerotropolis, but only if we properly resource it to make sure it works effectively. It's got to be very much a strategic development, one that requires a whole-of-government approach, a willingness from all levels of government, quite frankly, to be able to work together for the best outcomes. To put this in perspective, as I said a little earlier, Western Sydney is the third-largest growth centre in the country. More than half of Sydney's population growth between 2012 and 2018 occurred throughout Western Sydney.

We need proper investment. We need an ongoing commitment to build public infrastructure but also to support our universities and our vocational education, our TAFE centres, out there, to build the roads and the rail lines to guide the development of Western Sydney airport to establish the logistics and, importantly, the sporting, the artistic and the tourism facilities, all of which Western Sydney can offer and can prosper in with the right investment. And that does very much impact on rolling out a fast broadband network.

The other thing which is also impacted by this motion is our reliance on small business in Western Sydney. We need to create local jobs and retain those jobs, and small businesses are a crucial aspect of this. As the member for Parramatta said, there'd be more activity with people working from home. They can only do that if they have access to high-speed internet. That is another growth area, but a growth area for employment, because, regrettably, we're not going to have another major steelworks or another hypo industry. Growth in Western Sydney will be largely generated by the prosperity of small business.

The Western Sydney airport and its neighbouring aerotropolis will play a key role in underpinning this growth and expanding the region. It is set to be one of the largest infrastructure projects in the country and it will bring significant jobs—there's absolutely no doubt about it. One of the priorities I know the member for Werriwa and I have often spoken about is that, if local residents are given the opportunity to have priority of employment there, it will generate local employment, it will generate jobs and our community will prosper.

Vince Connelly (Stirling, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'm pleased to speak on this motion today. I think all of us in this place would certainly acknowledge the importance of internet connectivity and of keeping up technological change. The degree to which we use our devices—I hope I won't get pinged for using props—the mobile and iPad, certainly makes them essential tools of trade in modern Australia and around the world. It is important that this Morrison government remains focused on keeping pace and providing Australians, at home and in their businesses, with the technology that is needed for modern Australian life.

I do want to turn briefly to the motion itself and an inaccuracy. The motion claims that there is only one business fibre zone in Western Sydney, and I want to point out that that is incorrect. There are in fact 22 business zones across Western Sydney and the Blue Mountains, and these cover an expected 66,353 businesses. NBN Co announced the first 130 business fibre zones on 22 September 2020 and a further 110 zones on 26 October. Indeed, in my own electorate of Stirling, the NBN rollout has been very much welcomed. One hundred per cent of premises are now in areas ready for service, with 99 per cent ready to connect, and overall take-up is now at 75 per cent.

A little on business fibre zones themselves: back in September last year, Minister Fletcher announced $4½ billion for NBN network investment which will give up to 75 per cent of fixed line premises across regional and metropolitan Australia access to faster broadband by 2023. As part of this initiative, NBN Co is investing $700 million over the next three years to provide 90 per cent of all Australian businesses with access to symmetrical business-grade fibre at no upfront cost. NBN will provide CBD-equivalent wholesale enterprise ethernet pricing for around 700,000 businesses located in 240 business fibre zones. This will reduce wholesale pricing by up to 67 per cent for businesses outside major cities. It will include 85 business fibre zones in regional centres and 14 health precincts, with at least one in each state and territory. Transforming the access to and affordability of business-grade fibre and increasing competition and choice is critical to our economic recovery from COVID-19.

This is indeed a game changer for small and medium businesses. It will boost productivity, will foster innovation and will allow for small and medium businesses to embrace opportunities for growth. The enterprise ethernet service that, as I mentioned earlier, will be available in these business zones is NBN's highest-quality business-grade service, providing businesses with a choice of symmetrical speeds from 10 megabits per second to close to one gigabit per second. Businesses located within all 240 business fibre zones are now able to request a fibre upgrade from their retailer. For areas not located within business fibre zones, NBN Co has established a $50 million fund to facilitate the creation of further zones in partnership with local governments and other organisations.

As did the member for Forde, I want to pick up and challenge those opposite for Labor's record on the NBN. Indeed, I have a confession to make: I, as do some others in this place, like to drink beer. I do, however, draw the line—I deliberately restrain myself—at picking up a pen and attempting to nut out complex mathematical equations on the back of a beer coaster. But, unfortunately, that was the approach from those opposite. Ultimately, under their plan, the approach would have cost billions more and taken up to six years longer to complete, leaving millions behind, particularly during coronavirus, when so many of us needed to work from home and, indeed, school our children from home. By contrast, this government has delivered the NBN efficiently and economically when Australians needed it most. Overnight, when we had to adapt the way we lived and worked, this government was there with a strong NBN plan, and this will assist our economic recovery.

Anne Stanley (Werriwa, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Western Sydney is home to just over 2½ million people and is continuing to be one of the fastest-growing population centres in the country. Western Sydney is also Australia's third-largest economy, contributing over $1 billion to Australia's gross national product. It is critical that, as this large contributor to the economy, we aren't neglected by the federal government. However, over the last eight years, that has consistently been the case.

Industries like construction and manufacturing are vital to Western Sydney's sustainability, yet these industries don't have the backing of the state and federal governments, especially during the pandemic. It's time that transport infrastructure was provided to meet the demand and not leave those who live there waiting in traffic queues or on overcrowded railways and buses. The extension of the railway to the south-west and to the airport is critically important to the success of Western Sydney airport as well as the coming aerotropolis, with industries like aeronautics, advanced manufacturing and logistics supporting gate-to-plate agriculture and ecommerce fulfilment. However, Werriwa has received nothing under the Urban Congestion Fund. A land corridor is already reserved for this project and would easily and quickly connect the airport to Liverpool, Campbelltown and the rest of Sydney via the existing rail network. This vital infrastructure must be funded and built, linking the south-west's major population centres of Liverpool and Macarthur to the airport and the aerotropolis from day one. Given that the airport is five years away from opening, it needs to be done now. However, it looks like Western Sydney will have to wait until beyond the sustainability threshold before the government realises something is wrong. The lack of planning and neglect in Western Sydney needs to change.

The other critical area that must be addressed is fast and reliable internet. A report released last month confirms what Australians already know: the government's decision to dump Labor's full-fibre NBN was completely motivated by politics, not by economics or the interests of Australians. The leaked figures reveal the coalition government knew back in 2013 the original fibre rollout could have been delivered for tens of billions of dollars less than they publicly claimed. Evidence from the government's own reports looking into Labor's plans revealed that our fibre rollout would have been cheaper than the $57 billion copper rollout that was delivered. Former Prime Minister, then Minister for Communications, Malcolm Turnbull said Labor's full-fibre plan would be wasting well over $50 billion. If there was anything wasted it was Australians' time, money and patience. Placing 68th in the global internet rankings sounds like a waste of time and money to me.

It's laughable how far this government will go to oppose Labor, even when it knows what it's doing is wrong. However, it's no laughing matter. Just ask my constituents. The majority get no more than 26 megabits per second. That would be a good speed if the year were 2007. Suburbs like Cecil Hills, West Hoxton, Horningsea Park and Long Point had been waiting patiently for years to connect to the NBN. When finally they were connected to the NBN, they got decade-old speeds at 2021 prices. That's over 20,000 people and hundreds and hundreds of homes. People in my electorate are tired of the same old dropouts that have been occurring for the last 10 years. Families in Hinchinbrook are constrained by slow speeds, and their closest node is 10 kilometres away, in the Liverpool CBD. Their internet speed isn't fast or strong enough for them to use their devices without bandwidth stress.

There are also issues with connecting the NBN in the first place. Tim Dardanian is just one of my constituents who have had consistent NBN issues. Tim is currently only able to access ADSL technology through Telstra, which is of a substandard quality. The pandemic has exposed how the NBN has short-changed people like Tim. While families were forced to work and study from home, that was not possible for people like Tim. Prior to the pandemic, 70 per cent of workers in Werriwa worked outside the electorate. Now, with more people needing to work from home, the speeds that they can get are just not acceptable.

Labor led the charge for faster internet speeds on fibre to futureproof our internet, but this government prefers to play politics. As a result, Australians have been saddled with a second-rate NBN that's slower, more expensive and less reliable. Australians have the right to expect better. I call on the government to not only fund the South West Rail Link but also urgently improve NBN connectivity in my electorate.

Fiona Martin (Reid, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Parramatta is entirely mistaken. There is not one business fibre zone in Western Sydney; there are, in fact, 22 business fibre zones across Western Sydney and the Blue Mountains, covering an expected 66,353 businesses. NBN Co announced the first 130 business fibre zones on 22 September 2020 and a further 110 zones on 26 October. This information is readily available on the NBN website. This includes business fibre zones in my electorate, Reid. In bustling Burwood and Ashfield, there are 4,106 business fibre zones. In the Homebush-Lidcombe area, there are 4,205 business fibre zones, and in the busy manufacturing hub of Silverwater there are 1,446 business fibre zones.

In September 2020, Minister Fletcher announced a $4.5 billion NBN network investment plan, which will give up to 75 per cent of fixed-line premises across regional and metropolitan Australia access to ultrafast broadband by 2023. This will occur via a continuation of the multitechnology model of this government. This is the same model that has been used to deliver this enormous project efficiently and economically and in time for the extra demands placed on the network due to COVID-19. As part of this initiative, NBN Co is investing $700 million over the next three years to provide 90 per cent of all Australian businesses with access to symmetrical business-grade fibre at no upfront cost. NBN Co will also provide CBD-equivalent wholesale enterprise ethernet pricing for around 700,000 businesses located within 240 business fibre zones, reducing wholesale pricing by up to 67 per cent for businesses outside major cities. This will include 85 business fibre zones in regional centres and 14 health precincts, with at least one in each state and territory.

Transforming the access and affordability of business-grade fibre and increasing competition and choice is critical to our economic recovery from COVID-19. This is a game changer for small and medium businesses. It will boost productivity, foster innovation and allow small- and medium-sized businesses to embrace opportunities for growth. The Enterprise Ethernet service available in those business fibre zones is NBN Co's highest-quality business-grade service, providing businesses with a choice of symmetrical speeds from 10 megabytes per second to close to one gigabyte per second, prioritised traffic and enhanced 24/7 customer support. Under the Business Fibre Initiative, businesses located within all 24 business fibre zones are now able to request a fibre upgrade from their retailer, and works are underway or have been completed in response to orders already received. For areas not located within the business fibre zones, NBN Co has established a $50 million fund to facilitate the creation of future zones in partnership with local government and other organisations.

This government will not be lectured to by those opposite on the NBN and certainly will not be lectured to by those on the other side about supporting small business. Labor's back-of-the-beer-coaster approach would have cost billions more, taken up to six years longer to complete and left millions of Australians behind during COVID-19. By contrast, this government has delivered the NBN efficiently and economically when Australians most needed it. There are currently over 11.9 million premises ready to connect. Over 99 per cent of Australian premises can now order an NBN service. More than eight million premises have already been connected to the NBN. Today, 70 per cent of homes and businesses are on 50-megabyte-per-second plans. Under this government, NBN was there for Australians. It stood up to the test of COVID-19, and it will continue to be a driving force in our strong economic recovery.

David Gillespie (Lyne, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There being no further speakers, the debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.