Stephen Conroy (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Brown for her ongoing interest in this issue. After 18 failed broadband plans in 11½ years, the coalition left Australians with some of the worst broadband in the world. There is no Australian city—not one—amongst the top 100 cities in the world for average internet connection speed. We are 50th in the world for internet connection speeds, behind almost every single advanced industrial economy. That is the legacy of those opposite. Australia is ranked last in the OECD for fibre penetration and we have the fifth-most-expensive broadband prices in the OECD. That is the legacy that those opposite left Australia, and, despite the claims of those opposite that broadband in metropolitan areas is just fine—can I have some of what you’re smoking? I tell you.

Their own policy document states that there are over one million lines in Australia that have broadband-limiting technologies like pair gains installed. That is their own policy document. But, if you need further evidence, Ms Kate McKenzie, a senior executive from Telstra, has admitted that two-thirds of Australians in metropolitan areas cannot get speeds of more than 12 megabits. The NBN rectifies years of policy failures by delivering affordable, world-leading broadband services to all Australian homes. (Time expired)