Matt Burnell (Spence, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Albanese Labor government was elected with a mandate to both enact a positive policy agenda and also fix the mess of the Abbott-Turnbull-Morrison government. A mess of the last government that comes to mind is the National Broadband Network. The NBN was in desperate need of unshackling after nine years of not just policy inaction but policy sabotage. The sabotage impacted everyday Australians. It impacted Australian businesses small and large. Some friend to business the opposition are!

The NBN is finally getting healthier because the government is putting more fibre in its diet. In my electorate of Spence, the NBN fibre upgrade will benefit households and businesses alike in Willaston, Smithfield Plains, Salisbury, Gawler South, Evanston Park, Elizabeth South, Elizabeth North, Davoren Park, Craigmore and Blakeview. They will be able to upgrade to a full-fibre connection, bringing it closer to what Labor first envisaged when we created the NBN.

These benefits can even be felt across Spence's borders, in Barker. I hope folk out in Tanunda, Renmark and Mount Gambier remember who told them the ancient copper network was good enough. It's a shame for his constituents that the member for Barker has spent the last nine years playing with his floppy disc rather than helping to keep the regions connected. Thankfully, the adults are now in charge.