Stephen Conroy (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. I note that the minister ducked the question I actually asked her and so I will repeat it. Can the minister indicate at what speeds the WiMAX network will actually deliver to Australians in rural and regional areas? Can the minister guarantee a minimum of 12 megabits for all users of the new WiMAX network? Minister, you cannot run and hide on this one—yes or no. Given the shortcomings of wireless broadband relative to fibre optics, why has the government chosen to allocate almost a billion dollars of taxpayers’ money to this technology? In light of the minister’s historical opposition to picking technology winners, why has she now decided to instead pick technology losers?