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

It is an honour to stand in this place and respond to the answers from Senator Conroy and also to respond to Senator Bilyk. She referred to the costs of the rollout of the NBN in Tasmania, but nobody knows the exact costs. We have been asking on the record, in Senate estimates last week and again today, and the minister refuses to answer. Senator Bilyk stands in here and talks about the costs of the NBN in Tasmania, and she does not even know the answer herself. This is a disgrace.

For months and months we have been trying to get this information out of Minister Conroy and we have confirmed on the public record today that a $37 million contract has been signed for stage 1 of the rollout of the NBN in Tasmania. The minister has refused to advise the Senate of the total cost of the rollout in Tasmania to date, and there is a very big difference. Obviously there is the award of a contract for $37 million. He will not say who it is with. I assume it is with Aurora, but he refuses to say. He has also put on the public record today that there are a number of other contracts that are about to be signed or perhaps were signed in the last few days. He is clearly not on top of his brief. He confirmed that in his answers today. He does not know. He said he does not know, but does he really know? I would like to know and the public would like to know the exact status of the rollout in Tasmania and the total cost. Is it not fair for the taxpayer to know? I would like the minister and the government to come clean.

What we do know—he revealed this in budget estimates last week—is that Tasmania has the lowest connection rate in Australia, at 50 per cent. There are 262 homes that have an active connection, and Senator Conroy says to himself and to the public that that is a good rate to date—goodness gracious me! What could be lower and more appalling than those sorts of sign-up rates to date? We also know that the cost to the ISP is nil. So what sort of commercial arrangement do we have here? And those rates for the ISPs go through to 30 June next year. We all want better, faster, more affordable broadband. Despite what Senator Bilyk and others might say about what is happening in Tasmania and around this country, we want better. But the way this government is going about it—the mismanagement and maladministration—is something to be ashamed of.

In terms of the battery backup, we need to clear it up and fix it very swiftly. The government have done a backflip in the last couple of days. They have now confirmed that the cost of the battery backup will be paid for by the NBN Co. The minister answered that today. That is one thing he answered—that is good news. What he did not reveal is whether he agreed with what the McKinsey-KPMG report says about the cost of the battery back-up, that it:

… would cost an additional $90-$150 million each year.

That is a lot of money each year for taxpayers. The minister would not agree on the record today whether he supported or rejected those figures. So the question I then asked is: will Tasmanians who have already paid for their battery backup be reimbursed?

I have had communication with a John Salmon at Midway Point. He is very disappointed and upset with the dozens of phone calls he has had to make to try and get signed up in Tasmania. The delays that have occurred for him and his family have been extreme, and he is not a happy pumpkin. He says that he was told it would be $90 for a battery backup. What about the Tasmanians and those elsewhere around Australia who have already paid for a battery backup? Will the minister reimburse that money? Will the government ensure that that is reimbursed? We do not know.

It is a bit of a shemozzle because they do not have a business plan, and that was confirmed on the record today. I asked when the business plan would be available and whether he would make it available, and Senator Conroy indicated that he hoped that it would be. We will hold him to that, and we want a copy of that business plan as a matter of urgency because we know they have not been acting in accordance with one. Why won’t they release the cost-benefit analysis? I want to know about the joint venture with the Tasmanian government. When will that be consummated? What sort of equity is held between NBN Co. in Tasmania and the federal and state governments? We need these answers, and we need them as a matter of urgency. I thank the Senate.