Helen Polley (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you very much, Madam Acting Deputy President. But you cannot fake sincerity and you cannot fake awareness and you cannot fake an appreciation of why fast broadband speeds are so vital. He begged for the top job. He pleaded. He cajoled, he demanded and he did everything he could think of. But he never understood the importance of the NBN and he had no alternatives to offer the Independent MPs. In the end, of course, NBN was the clincher. It was the issue the Independent MPs kept coming back to and it was the issue where the Labor Party held such a clear advantage over the coalition. It must keep Mr Abbott awake. Certainly in Tasmania it was the clincher for why we were so successful at the last election. Shame on you, Mr Abbott, for seeking to cynically exploit the NBN and lower the standard of public debate once again. Shame on you, Malcolm Turnbull, for ignoring your better judgment and betraying the sort of moderate conservatives who value the NBN—the same people who consider you their leader in exile. Shame on you, National Party members and senators, for not speaking up and not pushing harder against the stance adopted by your partner in arms, the Liberal Party, particularly since you know that the NBN will benefit your targeted constituents in remote and regional Australia more than anyone else. Shame on you.

The people of Tasmania, along with Australians everywhere, are eager to take advantage of the NBN, construction of which recently commenced in a number of new locations including South Launceston in my home state of Tasmania. Over 14,500 homes and businesses can now connect to the NBN fibre network and work is underway to connect a further 70,000 premises. When it comes to broadband speeds, Australia can afford to be bold. One of the disadvantages that Australia faces competing in the global economy is the tyranny of distance. That is why we need to be embrace a broadband strategy that features fibre optic cables delivering world-class internet speeds straight to homes and businesses. For too long people living in regional and remote areas in my home state of Tasmania and, in fact, around Australia have had to put up with slow, unreliable ADSL services. Some have endured the frustration of not being able to connect at all. Labor believes that fast broadband should not be seen as a privilege enjoyed by some but rather as an essential utility, just like water or electricity, that should be available to everyone. The NBN will keep the Australian economy expanding and lead to innovations and improvements in the lives of Australians that were not considered possible until now. Look at the benefits not only to businesses and to us as private citizens but for our schools and as far as health is concerned. The only complaint I get when I move around Tasmania—and, in fact, other parts of Australia—is that people want broadband and they want it now. I am very proud that this government has taken the lead after 11½ very long years of the Howard coalition government being in there and not investing in Australia's future or our economy.