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

Thank you, Mr President. Of course, this really does show how desperate the Labor Party is that information about the government’s comprehensive broadband plan does not get out to rural and regional Australians who want these services and who will not get them under the Labor Party—certainly no-one in Australia will get them until 2013.

The mail-out, of course, simply informs consumers about new and affordable broadband services coming their way. Surely, if the Labor Party were interested in providing Australians with access to fast, affordable broadband, it would have supported this mail-out. I am absolutely delighted that my department wrote to over 500,000 householders across rural and regional Australia to advise them that a new, wholesale broadband network is now being rolled out. This new network will provide fast, affordable broadband to all Australians, regardless of where they live.

Unlike Labor, which need an inquiry to even get out of bed—it is a wonder they have not had one just to decide where they can roll out broadband—the Howard government is about making decisions in the best interests of all Australians and then getting on with the job of making those decisions a reality. A fast, affordable broadband service for all Australians regardless of where they live is a reality that this government has committed to, has costed and is currently rolling out.

The Labor Party, of course, want to shut down the good news. We all know that their response lacks credibility. It is a sham plan. It is uncosted and provides no coverage, and it only covers 75 per cent of the country. No wonder people in rural and regional Australia look forward to getting letters that inform them of not only the availability of services but also the fact that they will be affordable and will be available to them before 2013. It is no wonder that the Labor Party want to stop consumers being informed. They have desperately tried to shut down the OPEL network. They have conspired with Telstra to try and influence, quite improperly, the Auditor-General. They have tried without success to criticise every opportunity to tell consumers about services that are available regardless of where Australians live.

And it is not just Labor who wants to keep consumers in the dark, of course. Telstra, which only has itself to blame, has gone on a capital strike, has failed to provide fast broadband—which it could, at the flick of a switch—and then has the temerity to criticise an alternative provider who steps up to the plate and says, ‘If Telstra won’t do it, we will.’

I think it is an indictment on the Labor Party, an indictment on Senator Conroy and an indictment on all the people over there who he gets to ask his silly questions. The important thing is that all Australians can get fast broadband under the coalition’s plan, regardless of where they live.