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

My question is to Senator Coonan, the Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts. I refer the minister to a recent email from Sol Trujillo to Telstra staff, outlining the position of the company on the rollout of fibre to the node. Is the minister aware that Mr Trujillo states that Telstra:

… has a plan in place that reflects negotiations and discussions with the Government that are now complete.

Can the minister confirm that the government has completed negotiations with Telstra on the terms of its FTTN proposal? In light of Mr Trujillo’s email, why should the Australian public believe that the government’s panel of experts on FTTN is anything more than an elaborate rubber stamp for a deal that the minister has already negotiated with Telstra?

Helen Coonan (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Conroy for the question. The government has no concluded agreement with Telstra.

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

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. I again refer the minister to the email to Telstra staff from Mr Trujillo. Is the minister aware that this email further states that Telstra will no longer ‘develop, refine or negotiate’ the terms of the FTTN plan it has produced through ‘negotiations and discussions with the government’? Given that Telstra has completed negotiations and discussions with the government, will the minister now inform the Senate of the price for broadband access that she had agreed to?

Helen Coonan (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Well, that is just proof positive that Senator Conroy has written his answer before he hears what I have to say, because he just said again that the government had an agreement with Telstra. I repeat: the government has no concluded agreement with Telstra, and I have not been the recipient of any email from Mr Trujillo.

Kay Patterson (Victoria, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, Senator Coonan. Will the minister inform the Senate of measures by the Howard government to use innovation and technology to provide world-class communications services to Australians and to Australian industry?

Helen Coonan (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you to Senator Patterson for her question. I do recognise her outstanding results as the former health minister in the use of technology to provide world-class services—

George Campbell (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator George Campbell interjecting—

Paul Calvert (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order!

Helen Coonan (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

for all Australians. I did read with interest today reports about the opposition suddenly—

George Campbell (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator George Campbell interjecting—

Paul Calvert (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Campbell, you are warned! You have been repeatedly interjecting all day.

Helen Coonan (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

waking up to the idea of 24-hour production chains using Australia’s broadband connections. Mr Tanner, this time, is the culprit. The Labor Party, of course, are putting up yet another plan, whereas this government has actually been doing the job of rolling out new and innovative broadband services since 2004. And, through funding provided by the Howard government, sectors like health, for example, as Senator Patterson knows, are already using broadband to provide 24/7 support for doctors. Radiographic images transferred using fast broadband connections are already viewed by radiologists both here and overseas. As an example, I recently visited a facility where an Australian company is using Australian qualified radiologists in Israel to support the north coast area health service, ensuring that, for instance, when a patient wakes up, the diagnosis is already waiting and treatment can start without delay.

Through programs including the government’s $113 million Clever Networks program, and the earlier Coordinated Communications Infrastructure Fund, we are already supporting projects which deliver world-class services to Australians, regardless of where they live. Back in 2005, for example, the government funded groundbreaking technology for BreastScreen Victoria, involving the use of a digital access network connected to mobile screening vans in rural and regional Victoria. This innovation has vastly improved services for women, and better utilises scarce radiologist resources by using digital images and broadband, with key funding from the Howard government.

But it is not just the health sector that is leading the world in the innovative use of broadband. The Howard government has also built a broadband postproduction network that links up Australia’s leading movie production houses and enables them to compete globally whilst the Northern Hemisphere sleeps. And recent Academy Award winners, such as Rising Sun Pictures and Animal Logic, are proof positive that Australia already has a night-shift digital economy.

So it is going to be very interesting to hear what Mr Tanner’s speech is all about tonight and how he will account for the fact that he appears to be in the Dark Ages when it comes to understanding the investment that the Howard government has made in fast broadband and clever solutions. So I say to the Australia public: don’t be fooled by Labor’s plans for tomorrow. Tomorrow is already too late. The Howard government is about real outcomes from new and innovative network solutions, not just vague plans and rhetoric. Our Clever Networks programs are real, they are rolling out, they are fully costed and they are already delivering concrete results to Australians. And this is really the important thing: this is just another example of the human dividends made possible by the Howard government’s strong economic management.