Kate Lundy (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Local Government) Share this | Hansard source

My question is to Senator Coonan, the Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts. I refer the minister to her claim that her broadband plan will provide very fast broadband speeds of 12 megabits per second to rural and regional areas. Can the minister confirm that Optus-Elders themselves concede that their plan only delivers speeds of up to 12 megabits per second? Don’t Optus-Elders qualify their claim by acknowledging that actual speeds will vary according to distance, internet traffic, weather conditions and terrain? Why has the minister ignored the Optus-Elders qualification and misled Australians about the broadband speed that her package will deliver?