Doug Cameron (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

On behalf of the Joint Standing Committee on the National Broadband Network, I present the third report of the committee on the review of the rollout of the National Broadband Network, together with the minutes of proceedings.

by leave—I move:

That the Senate take note of the report.

The third report of the Joint Committee on the National Broadband Network, entitled Review of the rollout of the National Broadband Network covers the period from 1 July to 31 December 2011 as well as other issues reported for the period from 1 January to 31 March 2012.

Over the period covered in the report:

     Silcar in Queensland, New South Wales and the ACT;

     Transfield in Victoria;

     Visionstream in Tasmania; and

     Syntheo for Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory.

These achievements are complemented by a number of significant regulatory milestones. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) considered and approved the structural separation of Telstra and accompanying draft customer migration plan, providing a once-in-a-generation opportunity to create a level playing field in the telecommunications sector and enable competition and investment to flourish for the benefit of consumers.

ACCC approval of the definitive agreements also paves the way for the NBN to be built using existing Telstra pit and pipe infrastructure, allowing for a cheaper and smoother rollout with less use of overhead cabling and less disruption for communities.

On 28 May 2012, the ACCC also provisionally approved the Optus agreement, which will allow for decommissioning of the Optus HFC network and transfer of customers onto the NBN.

The NBN Co.'s Special Access Undertaking, which sets NBN access terms and conditions, is being continually developed after feedback from the ACCC and industry and will again be examined by the committee during its fourth review. In this report, the committee noted that NBN rollout targets contained in the 2011-13 corporate plan are no longer valid due to changes in the assumptions underpinning these targets. As noted in the report, the committee is aware that the NBN Co. is still in the early stages of the NBN rollout and that, as a result of delays with the Telstra agreement, change to the number of points of interconnect (as mandated by the ACCC), and changes to the government's greenfields policy, undoubtedly there has been disruption and delay to the NBN rollout.

The committee found that this means that targets are not able to be compared between performance reports, and notes that NBN Co. considers it perfectly legitimate to measure its performance against the targets contained in the 12-month and three-year rollout plans.

The committee has recommended that the shareholder ministers' report include key performance indicator information for targets in the business plan for homes passed, homes connected, and services in operation.

The committee's interest in the contracting and procurement practices of the NBN Co. gained momentum during its third review. Like all government business enterprises NBN Co. is not subject to the Commonwealth Procurement Guidelines. The committee recommends that for all future contracts the NBN Co. update, and regularly maintain, its tender registry to include more information, such as the value of the contract and other relevant information.

The committee became aware of community concerns about the difficulties of extending the fibre footprint. In its second report, the committee recommended that the NBN Co. formalise and publicise its policy for the provision of costing extensions to the fibre footprint for the communities falling within wireless and satellite areas.

The NBN Co. has issued an interim policy for Tasmanian communities seeking an extension of the fibre footprint. Given the size and complexity associated with such applications, a trial of this system and policy has merit. However, this policy must be formalised and also made available to communities on mainland Australia.

The committee also found there needs to be more effective community and small business engagement in the public's education on all matters relating to the NBN.

The committee remains interested in examining the points of entry for private investment in the NBN—both in the form of equity and debt funding. This is to ensure a maximum return on the government's investment is secured on behalf of Australian taxpayers. This matter will therefore continue to be monitored by the committee as part of its ongoing review of the NBN rollout.

The final matter considered by the committee in its report concerned Telstra workforce retraining issues associated with the NBN rollout. The government has committed to providing $100 million to Telstra under a retraining funding deed to assist it in the retraining and redeployment of Telstra employees affected by these reforms to the structure of the telecommunications industry.

These training arrangements with Telstra were not fully implemented at the time of the committee finalising its report and the committee will continue its inquiry into this matter. The committee has recommended that the department publish a reporting document on annual progress under these training arrangements.

The committee is interested in the level and value of employment creation through the building and operation of the NBN, including local and regional employment. In its report, the committee recommended that NBN Co. communicate major areas of emerging training need and workforce demand with regard to the rollout of the NBN, to assist with future Australian workforce planning in this sector.

In relation to the inquiry process, the committee has again received answers to questions placed on notice at hearings late and commented on these delays in addition to the limited information regularly received in written responses.

The committee is responsible for reviewing the six-monthly rollout of the NBN and takes this responsibility seriously given the large public expenditure and time taken to enable the NBN to be completed.

The committee has again recommended that internal processes for the approval of answers to questions on notice be changed so that the committee is given the information it has asked for by the due date.

I commend the report to the Senate.

Question agreed to.