Nick Sherry (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party, Minister Assisting the Minister for Tourism) Share this | Hansard source

Thanks to my colleague Senator Bilyk. My colleague Senator Conroy today made some very important announce­ments about the future of the NBN. I want to comment on the importance of the NBN to economic growth, particularly for small and medium-sized business. This is a major economic reform. It will help business across Australia, particularly in the regions, to take advantage of the enormous online opportunities.

These opportunities, the National Broadband Network online connection, have been well spelled out in a major new study, released by McKinsey Global, on the impact of the internet on jobs, growth and prosperity in the world's economies. It examined some 13 countries responsible for 70 per cent of the world's economic growth. It found that the internet is a significant job creator. In France, for example, it has resulted in a net addition of 700,000 jobs—that is, 2.4 jobs created for every job lost. In the survey of 480,000 small and medium-sized businesses across 13 countries, 2.6 jobs were created for every one lost.

It also found the internet contributed to 21 per cent of the economic growth in the last five years in advanced economies. All industries benefited from the web, and in fact small to medium-sized enterprises benefited to a disproportionately greater degree. Some 75 per cent of the economic impact was a positive result for small to medium-sized businesses. SMEs with a strong web presence grew more than twice as quickly as those with no or minimal web presence. I quote from the report. (Time expired)