Stephen Conroy (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Furner for his question and for his interest in regional Australia, unlike those opposite. Today on the Gold Coast the NBN Co. has opened its new NBN National Contact Centre. Senators know that the NBN Co. is on track to meet its target of having work commenced or completed for 758,000 homes and businesses across Australia by the end of this year. As the NBN ramps up across Australia, the contact centre at Varsity Lakes will play a critical role in responding to inquiries from the general public, property developers and businesses. The 130 new jobs at the NBN National Contact Centre are in addition to the 16,000 to 18,000 construction jobs expected to be created at the peak of the NBN rollout. This is just another example of the Gillard government's investment in the NBN, creating local jobs and boosting local economies. The NBN is rolling out to homes and businesses across the Gold Coast—in Surfers Paradise, Broadbeach, Ashmore and Southport—with the construction of 21½ thousand to be commenced or completed by June 2015. People in Queensland have all too recently seen the stark contrast between the commitment of Labor to invest in Queensland and the approach of the LNP and those opposite, with Campbell Newman's cuts of 14,000 jobs. The Gillard government is creating jobs in Queensland with the National Broadband Network.