Concetta Fierravanti-Wells (NSW, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Ageing) Share this | Hansard source

We are focusing on the objects of the legislation. In particular, Senator Ludlam was earlier talking about the objects of it, and I would like to focus on a very important object. One of the amendments proposed is the availability of accessible and affordable carriage services that enhance the welfare of Australians. I would like to pick up on that point because my biggest concern is the cost the average Australian is going to have to bear as a consequence of what is now turning out to be another debacle of this government. It really has become a very, very sorry mess.

We now have the government finally, under duress, releasing this 36-page summary, but in the end this is really just fuzzy words. Where are the financial statements? Where is the business plan? Where are the cash flow statements? Where is the profit and loss statement? All of this seems to be totally out of context. If anybody in this country—and I look at the people in gallery and ask them—wants to set up a business tomorrow and they want to go to the bank for money from the bank to set up that business, what is the first thing that the bank manager is going to ask? The bank manager is going to say, ‘Well, that’s all very well. That might be a great idea, but where is your business plan? Where is the money coming from? Where is the security? What is your profit and loss? What are your assumptions? Are your assumptions appropriate for what you want to do?’

If you do not have that business plan, you are not going to go anywhere. But here we have this government proposing to spend $43 billion—actually, it is not $43 billion; I correct myself. There is the odd figure in the document I have here, and if I have a look at page 29 of this document we are told that by the time you add it all up we are talking about $49.5 billion. So we are talking about almost $50 billion that the taxpayers of Australia are going to have to underwrite for what is a monopoly in this country and there is no business plan to spend this money—my money, your money, the money of your children and your children’s children—because by the time the $49 billion is paid off it will be your children and your grandchildren who are going to have to foot the bill for this.

The government talks about affordable broadband so that everyone can get broadband, but the question how we are actually going to get there was never really asked. That was the question that should properly have been asked of the Productivity Commission, which is best equipped to give the answer—that is, how are we going to have universal and affordable broadband so that everyone can get broadband with high speeds at a price they can afford to pay? When Senator Ludlam talks about accessible and affordable broadband, that is the question that the Productivity Commission should have been asking. The Productivity Commission should have been given the opportunity to ask that question and make an analysis so that the taxpayers of Australia could have had the appropriate answers before this Senate is called upon to vote on this legislation.

But of course millions of households, at a cost of billions of dollars, are effectively going to have their existing fixed-line telecommunications ripped out and made redundant, and they will end up getting a service which, quite frankly, is no better than what they had. I would like to focus on this, because I would like to know—and I would like to know it from the minister—what assurances consumers have that this monopoly situation is not going to do what Telstra did this week to one consumer, namely me; that is, switch off broadband at my home. Minister, are you listening to this? This week broadband at my home got switched off. I do not want to cast aspersions, Minister.