Guy Barnett (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I stand to take note of the answers to the questions given by ministers on this side of the chamber, specifically, Senator Helen Coonan, Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts. I want to follow through and support the comments of my fellow senator, Senator Nash. I will start where she concluded. She quoted Warren Snowdon, the member for Lingiari, who conceded, in an interview with Territory FM only yesterday, that, yes, they would have to use wireless to access rural and regional parts of the Northern Territory. That makes it very clear that there has been a concession by Labor MPs that wireless is to be used.

Under the Labor plan—which, as was indicated by Minister Coonan earlier today, is really a media release of some 90 days ago—they will reach only 75 per cent of the Australian population. They realise, in the statements made in the media release, that under their proposal they will simply do two things. Firstly, they will rob the communications fund of $2 billion.