Carina Garland (Chisholm, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Communications. How will keeping the National Broadband Network in public ownership deliver productivity, connectivity and cost-of-living benefits for Australians, and what are alternative positions on NBN ownership?

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

I thank the member for her question. Labor founded the National Broadband Network to provide fast, reliable and affordable broadband to all Australians, and we are delivering on that vision for a world-class fibre network. Only by keeping the NBN in public ownership can that vision continue to be delivered. The NBN is critical infrastructure that reaches over 12.4 million premises across Australia. Currently more than 8.6 million homes and businesses are connected to the NBN. Ongoing government ownership of the NBN will help keep wholesale broadband prices more affordable for consumers than if the company was in private ownership.

The Albanese government is investing $2.4 billion over four years to give more households and businesses full fibre access. More than 70,000 kilometres of new fibre has been rolled out, and over 2,300 fixed wireless towers have been upgraded. For the first time, this work is progressing on time and on budget. Fibre can deliver speeds 18 times faster than the average copper connection and is less likely to drop out. From next year, the NBN will be boosting download speeds by up to five times current speeds, at no extra wholesale cost. The productivity and efficiency gains are significant. Research commissioned by NBN shows that Australians save more than 100 hours and $2,580 per year in avoided travel time and costs in working from home and undertaking tasks online.

We know the coalition want to sell the NBN, just like they sold Telstra. In fact, the former minister declared in 2020 that the NBN was built and fully operational. 'Mission accomplished,' he declared, despite the fact that there were still millions of Australians in the fixed line footprint stranded on deteriorating coalition copper. They took the first step in the NBN sale process. This was a legacy of their ill-founded copper experiment. It blew out the cost of the NBN from $29 billion to $41 billion, then $49 billion, then $57 billion. We know the Liberals have form, selling off assets and leaving ordinary Australians with higher prices and poorer services, and the Nationals are too weak to stand up to them.

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! There was far too much noise while the minister was on her feet. That wall of noise is completely disrespectful. Everyone on the front bench just completely yelling, including the member for Barker and the member for O'Connor, is unparliamentary. It's also disrespectful, particularly when a female minister is on her feet.

Order! The member for Barker will leave the chamber under 94(a). I mean it.

The member for Barker will come back and apologise to the House.

Tony Pasin (Barker, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Infrastructure and Transport) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I apologise.

The member for Barker then left the chamber.