Nick Minchin (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance and Administration) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Ronaldson for his pertinent question. He is one of many coalition senators who are focused on ensuring all Australians have access to quality telecommunications wherever they live. I congratulate Senator Coonan on this morning’s announcement of the Australia Connected package. It is a great package that means 99 per cent of Australians will have access to fast broadband by June 2009. It is entirely appropriate that we use a mix of technologies in a country like Australia, with its spread of population and geography—something the Labor Party completely misunderstands. In reference to Senator Ronaldson’s question, we are funding our package in a very responsible way. Firstly, because we put the budget back into surplus and we have eliminated Labor’s deficits and their debt, we can afford to provide generous support for broadband in regional and rural Australia. That is why we want to keep delivering surpluses. Secondly, and I emphasise this, we are putting our taxpayers’ investment into the areas that need government subsidies—the regional areas where you can assess that there is some market failure.

But there is simply no need for government funding of this in the cities, because in these areas the private sector is keen to build a fibre network by itself without it being subsidised by the taxpayers. But, of course, that begs the question: if the private sector is willing to build a fibre network by itself, why is Labor so committed to spending nearly $5 billion of taxpayers’ money on a city-centric network? There is simply no need for what amounts to a re-nationalisation of Australian telecommunications as proposed by the Labor Party. To make it worse, the $5 billion that Labor wants to spend is going to come from a smash-and-grab raid on the Communications Fund and the Future Fund. They lecture us all the time about planning for the future; and that is what these very important funds are about. These funds are responsible long-term planning to ensure that we have the savings locked away to deal with future challenges. The Communications Fund is there to provide around $400 million every three years to keep improving regional telecommunications, but Labor want to grab that and spend it all in one go on their proposal, leaving not one cent for future investment in regional and rural Australia. The Future Fund is there to ensure we can properly fund the superannuation of our soldiers, our police and our public servants and to take the tax burden off future generations of taxpayers. Labor are going to raid both these funds, and it is completely irresponsible. We are determined to stop them, and that is why the Prime Minister announced this morning that we will legislate to lock the Communications Fund away. So, like the Future Fund, it will be illegal for Labor to raid these savings funds.

The issue of broadband does demonstrate the real differences between the coalition and the Labor Party. The Labor Party have not escaped the big government solutions that have existed in that party ever since the Whitlam years. They have got a Whitlam style government extravaganza approach to broadband. The Labor Party do not have the experience or the ability to put together a broadband policy to suit Australia’s needs. The Labor Party are not financially responsible enough to be able to fund broadband without raiding the funds we have put away for long-term savings. With our experience in office, this government, and Senator Coonan in particular, has put together this great plan that will deliver fast broadband within two years in the city and the bush at best value for money for taxpayers.