Helen Coonan (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts) Share this | Hansard source

That is a fundamental point that seems to have escaped those in the dark ages on technology who do not understand the difference between what platforms work where and the different capacities that they have. I give an unequivocal assurance that this government is committed to parity of service and equality of service and that it will be delivered by the best possible mix of technologies that we can deliver. The issue with Labor’s proposal, as I have pointed out on numerous occasions—and I really do enjoy having the opportunity to bring the Labor Party up to speed on these matters—is that it is a bit difficult to deliver parity of service with fibre when there is no kerb to go to, there is no exchange to run from, or, if in fact there is an exchange, it is only going to run about a kilometre up to possibly five at the very best depending on how close you are to the service.

If you happen to live on a property, if you happen to live more than a kilometre away from an exchange, it is not going to help you very much to have fibre in some rural and regional areas. I have tried very gently to explain this to those on the other side, but, no matter what questions I get asked, it does not alter the technical capacities of these various platforms. What I can say to the Senate and, of course, more broadly to all Australians is that this government is not going to leave some Australians out of the benefits of new technology. We are not going to treat rural and regional Australians as though they live in some second-class backwater forgotten by the Labor Party. We will make sure that this technology, which will be truly marvellous, will in fact extend to all Australians regardless of where they live.