Mitch Fifield (Victoria, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Social Services) Share this | Hansard source

Senator Canavan is of course exactly right: in order to deliver the benefits of fast broadband to rural and regional Australia you actually do need to roll the network out—which as we on this side of the chamber know is a small point, but critical nonetheless, that escaped Senator Conroy's attention. The coalition is getting on with the job of rolling out the NBN and getting it back on track. We are committed to delivering fast broadband sooner at less cost to the taxpayer—and, importantly, more affordably for consumers. We in the coalition agree that all Australians should have access to fast and affordable broadband. Nowhere is this more important than rural and regional Australia, which has historically been poorly served in infrastructure.

Since we took government there has been strong progress in rural and regional Queensland. I can confirm that six fixed-wireless network towers have been activated in the Rockhampton area, covering more than 1,500 homes and businesses. The localities covered by the towers in the region include Alton Downs, Glendale, Gracemere, Kabra, Pink Lilly and The Caves. Around Mackay, four fibre serving area modules have gone live since the election—covering almost 10,000 premises. That is in addition to the 4,000 premises covered by fixed wireless in the Mackay region. Accelerating the fixed-wireless rollout has been a significant focus for NBN Co, and I am pleased to say to Senator Conroy that this is what building the NBN looks like. (Time expired)