Deborah O'Neill (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Mr Turnbull promised it would be 'faster, sooner and cheaper'. Well, that is absolutely not the case. The fibre to the node network continues to use the redundant copper wire system has proved to reveal the mistakes of his past that are becoming more apparent by the day to Australians..

The MTM is supposed to stand for a multitechnology mix but has been called by some in Wagga a spider web, something loosely held together and already blowing in the wind. I think the MTM actually stands for 'Malcolm Turnbull's Mess'. The MTM is taking twice as long at twice the price, and if you finally get a connection and, believe me, it is not easy to do. I have moved recently and I can tell you it is a long, long wait. My husband has waited three times for visits from Telstra—a total of 12 hours; 12 hours of productivity cut away from his life while waiting for Telstra to show up. On three occasions they promised, but still no NBN. It is an absolute nightmare.

A fast, reliable internet connection is vital for regions in Australia where you have the chance of a level playing field for small businesses, particularly for those competing in global markets. Many of the digital businesses in the creative industries, which are potential growth industries on the Central Coast, are being stymied in their growth because of a failure of Mr Turnbull to see the NBN as an investment rather than a cost. A fast, reliable internet connection is vital. It enables telemedicine and other advances that are especially important for older people living in remote and isolated areas. The same goes for education. Ten years ago, federal Labor recognised the growing frustration of the community due to this lack of broadband access. That is why we instituted the fibre to the home NBN, but it has been resisted by the coalition at every turn.

My office has been inundated with complaints from people across the Central Coast about line dropouts, total internet blackouts at peak times, slow speeds and a lack of service from the NBN Co. and internet service providers. I went to a tile shop recently and I asked them how their new NBN connection was going. They said, 'We are in the middle of doing our business and the line is dropping out multiple times an hour. Give us back our old ADSL.' But they are not allowed to have that now, because the NBN has been rolled out, and Mr Turnbull is telling you what can and cannot have. That business has been saddled with completely inefficient access to the marketplace. I was recently speaking to people from a cleaning company, and for eight weeks they have been without the internet. They have not been able to send out their invoices, and that is a massive threat to small business. The Liberal Party constantly claims they are the friends of small business, yet this is the result of their decision making. Mr Turnbull said it was going to cost $29.5 million. Now the great money manager has blown it out to $54 billion for the dog's breakfast of a rollout that we have. It is a disgrace; it is a waste and a great shame.

The Swinburne report finds that it is regional Australia that is suffering the most from Mr Turnbull's mess. While the state's ADI scores were 54.9, which is considered to be a medium score and slightly above the national average of 54.5, Gosford came in at a low 48.7 and the Hunter region was the worst performer with 41.2. The Murray and Murrumbidgee area was next worse with a score of 48.4, while the South Coast got the bronze medal for the worst index score on 48.6. Sydney, where all these policy makers are saying, 'You don't need to worry; fibre to the node will do you', scored 57.5. It is just not fair; it is not an inclusive society. This is the deliberate construction of an infrastructure spend that is delivering a two-speed society. As the report states:

The data shows that while the digital divide continues to narrow, persistent and significant differences remain between different groups of Australian in relation to both access and use of the internet.

Let us talk about Wagga Wagga. The member for Riverina is Mr Michael McCormack, who is also the Minister for Small Business. The Murray-Murrumbidgee has a score of 48.4, and the analysis rates a score under 50 as very low. Mr McCormack must make it a priority to take this matter to Mr Turnbull and fix up what is a terrible problem emerging in that area. Dr Schirmer of the University of Canberra said their survey showed that farmers were being told to adopt new internet-based technology to improve their production and efficiency, but their internet simply is not good enough to allow them to do that. He said:

I've had farmers ringing me up saying 'I've bought this piece of equipment for $500,000 and to get the best out of it I need decent internet and I don't have that …'

We know that in the seat of Riverina, represented by Mr McCormack, we have a community that wants to use new technologies, that needs to use new technologies, to improve productivity, grow jobs and advance the economy of the Riverina. Instead, as we know, Australia is falling behind.

A World Economic Forum communique indicates that millions of Australians are living without internet access, and has recorded Australia, to our shame, as the lowest scoring country in the category of affordability for internet access. We were once leading into the digital age—now, under the leadership of Mr Turnbull, into the digital Dark Ages.

Senate adjourned at 22:08