David Bushby (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to make a few brief comments on this report, particularly relating to the way that the NBN has been rolled out in Tasmania. As you would no doubt be aware, the pilot projects for the NBN were targeted in Tasmania, being in Scottsdale, Smithton and Midway Point. They have been rolled out for some time, so it gives us an opportunity to have a look at how that is going. In Scottsdale the number of connection points that have access to the NBN is 1,200, and 12 per cent of those are connected; in Smithton the number that have access is 1,600, 14 per cent of which are connected; and in Midway Point the number of homes that have access is 1,200 and at this stage 25 per cent are connected. It is important to realise that 'connected' does not mean that they are receiving internet services through those connection points. 'Connected' just means that they have taken up the opportunity to have the hardware installed at their house. All the evidence that I can find suggests that the actual number of people who have the NBN connected to their homes and are using the NBN is much smaller.