Helen Polley (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to continue my remarks on the address-in-reply and, in doing so, I also put on the record my congratulations to Ms Julie Collins, the re-elected member for Franklin, on her elevation to parliamentary secretary. I would also like to take the opportunity to congratulate Senator Sherry on his ministerial appointment.

I want to speak today about the importance of the National Broadband Network and what it means to my home state of Tasmania. When the rollout was commenced in Tasmania as the pilot for this innovation, it was well received by the Tasmanian community. That was quite clear both during the election campaign and in the lead-up to it. It was one of the outstanding things that happened in Tasmania, particularly for the town of Scottsdale in the north-east of Tasmania, which has suffered from downturns in manufacturing and in the vegetable industry and has had to regroup. Scottsdale is a very strong community and so to be one of the pilots for this innovation was very well received within the community. People within the business community, people in health and people in tourism can all see the benefits that this will bring not only to the Tasmanian community but also to the Australian economy.

We have seen that those opposite have failed to have the vision for what can be achieved with this enormous investment in infrastructure. It will mean that those who live in rural and regional areas around the country will be brought into the same situation as those who live in our large cities who have access to much faster broadband. One of the challenges that rural and regional Australia face is being able to attract specialists. The NBN would open up a whole new world in terms of being able to provide first-class health care for all Australians.

Without this enabling technology, our standard of living in terms of education, health, economy and our way of life would not be the same. There is a simple choice to be made. I am not saying that the mining industry is not important, but an economy needs to be broad, rounded, advanced and creative. Does Australia wish to maintain and improve its standard of living, its healthcare system, its education system and its economy—which are comparable with many other countries in the world—or do we want to become another poor, impoverished third-world country relying on the export of non-renewable resources? That is the outcome that Australia will face if we do not implement this program. This is not alarmist; this is the reality. Why is the coalition unable to see this? Why are they being so timid? With their attitude, the overland telegraph would not have been completed in 1872. In fact, it would probably not even have been started. The attitude that what we have already is good enough was not part of Australia’s pioneering spirit and it should not be part of today’s vision.

The list of benefits of the NBN is limited only by a closed mind. This is the single largest investment in infrastructure made by an Australian government. It will be a key nation-building project, it will have a huge economic effect both directly with its construction and in the long term. It will literally transform our health and education systems, it will improve energy efficiency and it will connect our big cities and regional centres. The NBN has enormous support from within the community and from within our health, education and business sectors.

I would also like to talk about the issues of upload and download capacity and the potential it creates, security of information and the benefits that will accrue with Telstra’s involvement. Before I speak on these issues, I would like to make a few general observations. Andrew Conner, from Digital Tasmania has said that scrapping of the NBN at this stage would be a backward move. He said:

They’re calling it risky and reckless—

That is, the opposition—

… fibre technology has been used for 30 years in telecommunications and now it’s ready for the home … And as for reckless, the Telco sector and competition has just failed over the last 20 years in Australia and that is why the government needs to be put out this new infrastructure, that’s to get all customers up to the same level of service, not the patchwork of services we’ve got at the moment across the country.

I would also like to quote Darren Alexander, who is President of TASICT. He said:

… a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Tasmania to be at the forefront of the new digital economy in Australia. This in itself has a myriad of opportunities for business and especially SMEs, which is over 96 per cent of Tasmania.

The vice-chairman of the UN broadband commission for digital development complimented Australia on its vision and ambition, saying that broadband infrastructure is critical for economic growth and competitiveness and that it would ensure efficient delivery of education, health and trade and business services. Isn’t this something that all Australians should be able to expect? I say yes; and the NBN is a vehicle for us to go forward.

Talking about upload and download speeds, there are three questions that need to be asked and answered: who would want to upload videos; why would they want to upload videos; and who would benefit? In the media they are talking about downloading big files—for example, in schools for lectures, or in hospitals for remote diagnosis of patients’ conditions. The other side of the coin is the ability to upload big files—in particular, video files. Did you know that 12 hours of video is uploaded to YouTube every minute, mostly in North America?

Google Maps is a concept developed not in New York or in Silicon Valley but in Australia. Mr Rasmussen, who cofounded Google Maps, said:

The Web means that it doesn’t matter where you are. … you can live here in Australia and build products for the world …

According to Tony Barnett, the director of rural health at the University of Tasmania, e-health services could revolutionise healthcare provision in Tasmania’s rural areas. He said:

The federal government has done a terrific job and Tasmania has been fortunate to be in the front running in terms of trials.

A pharmacist in Scottsdale—as I said, one of the pilot towns, one of the three initial centres in Tasmania that have come online with the NBN—said on the ABC:

This will make our business so much more efficient—enhance our professional development abilities, improve our education services to our customers—but with these upload and download speeds it is difficult to imagine the huge changes that will occur in five or 10 years time.

That is someone in the field who recognises the importance of upload and download speeds.

Google rates websites so that the websites that are viewed for the longest time and most frequently are at the top of the ratings. Online videos on a website positively influence both those considerations. We know that the average internet user watches 263 hours of videos per year over the internet, the equivalent of about six working weeks. Given that more than half the tourist operators in Tasmania are not online, imagine the benefits to this important Tasmanian industry. Regular uploading and downloading of video material is just not possible for many businesses in Tasmania. If videos were added to a website and users stayed on to watch the video, the website would move up in the Google search results, becoming more accessible and improving business opportunities.

The food and wine industries could be transformed. Videos showing Tasmanian food and wine being used to prepare meals could be readily available around the world. Regular updating would create new and repeat business. Competition for these products is worldwide, not only in our backyard. Farmers, who operate another important industry for Tasmania, would benefit by being able to electronically track livestock and/or monitor their crops.

Made in Tasmania is a book written exclusively to promote handmade products in Tasmania, products that can be shipped internationally. Entrepreneurs create jobs. A seed business may have videos about germinating seeds and other gardening tips. The prospects for internet based businesses are endless. A shoemaker could show how she makes her shoes. People looking for handmade goods are often patrons of the arts and want to know more about the artists and see them at work, even if they cannot be there. This is creating new and repeat business.

I have barely touched on the education and health benefits. Hospital networks are introducing their own systems to facilitate distant consultation, examination and diagnosis. Living in a remote or rural location does not need to equate to having poor access to essential services. These services should be available to all Australians. For instance, interactive health promotion programs can be available to everyone. We have been told just this week in a review commissioned by Catholic Health Australia:

We’ve provided evidence in this report that completing school better predicts if you are likely to die of cardiovascular disease, than cholesterol levels, blood pressure, and smoking combined.

The study found that those in the lowest socioeconomic group die three years earlier than the rest of the nation. The ways that the NBN can assist to resolve these issues are numerous.

One of my staff members has done a lot of voluntary work in South America. One of the surprises of his travel was how available and quick the internet was there, certainly as good as in Launceston, where I am based. We are talking about poor countries where between 20 per cent and 80 per cent of the population live below the UN poverty line—that is, on less than US$2 a day. Despite that, these countries have been recognising the enabling potential of this technology. And we are sitting here debating whether we need it or not.

The NBN will be used for entertainment. So what? The fact that every individual use may not have the same beneficial outcomes is not a reason to deny all the other benefits. If we talk about security, wireless systems are inherently less secure than wired systems. This does not mean that your household wi-fi will necessarily be broken into. I am talking about wi-fi used by the public at airports, restaurants and hotels, the wi-fi systems currently in use for regional Tasmania and proposed by the opposition in lieu of the NBN. Public wi-fi systems are inherently less secure than wired systems. Why would the opposition advocate a system with inherent insecurity?

The agreement between the NBN Co. and Telstra further enhances the viability of the project. There are huge benefits. The use of the Telstra infrastructure will eliminate the possibility of duplication of infrastructure, with significantly less disruptive trenching and laying of conduits. The progressive migration of customers from Telstra copper and pay TV cable networks to the new wholesale-only fibre network to be built and operated by the NBN Co. will be an orderly transition for Telstra customers. There will be significant benefits to taxpayers: savings and faster construction and take-up rates.

In the long-term, full structural separation will be achieved when Telstra migrates its customers to the wholesale-only NBN and decommissions its copper network. In the future, Telstra and other retail services will have access to a single, wholesale-only network offering access on open and equivalent terms as enshrined in the legislation and overseen by the ACCC. The NBN will create and maintain thousands of jobs as well as creating opportunities for local contractors. As the ACTU Secretary, Jeff Lawrence, said:

This deal … is a major step forward. It means everyone working in our communications industry and particularly Telstra employees can have greater confidence and job security.

These benefits are real. The cost of not bringing the NBN to Australia will be missed opportunities for creative talent, existing businesses and new businesses to upload their video files without constraints; improvements in health and education; and all of us to operate in a more secure internet system. Moreover, since this is a methodical process, planning cooperation with existing telecommunications providers will save money where possible and put a force of skilled workers on the job.

Maybe those opposite should open their minds and listen for a while so that they can understand more about the endless list of benefits of the NBN. They might then concur that the benefits for decades to come will outweigh the costs and keep our economy vibrant and growing in ways that we currently see and in ways that we cannot even imagine. Maybe in this one instance those opposite should join with the government and support us in a constructive way to bring in the NBN so that the Australian community and the internet can be brought into the 21st century.

I could go on about the other problems that, as I said at the outset of this speech, this government is tackling, including homelessness. Then there are the improvements in aged care and the huge investment in infrastructure. I very proudly indeed mention the Building the Education Revolution and the very positive effects that that had on not only the schools but the communities in my home state. It did not matter whether you went to a private school, a Catholic school or a public school. I can assure those within the chamber and those reading Hansard in the future that in Tasmania—and I speak from some experience, as I visited a large number of schools both during the building of the projects and at their openings—we got extremely good value for the money that was injected. And that money was decades and decades overdue.

I commend the Gillard Labor government and its ambitious programs for the next three years. I am very proud to have been returned to the Senate to work with my colleagues. I would also like to put on the public record my thanks to all candidates from all political parties and to Independents who put their hands up to run in our great democracy. I also put on the record my personal thanks to those in Tasmania who supported me and my family. I look forward to working in this chamber both with those on the crossbenches and with the opposition to bring about a much stronger and more vibrant Australian community.