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. Will the minister confirm that the contract with OPEL for $958 million of taxpayers’ money has been signed and, despite the fact that she cannot reveal the technical specifications of the network, including where the 1,316 new towers will be built, how the OPEL network will reach 99 per cent of Australians? What will the minimum broadband speeds be, what will the maximum retail price be and how much money is OPEL contributing? How can the minister award one of the largest single government grants to a private company in Australia’s history without being able to reveal the most basic requirements of the agreement?

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 his usual misconceived question. It is very good to see the Labor Party taking such a strong interest in this nation-building broadband initiative, because this comprehensive plan—the Australian Broadband Guarantee and the OPEL contract—will ensure that all Australians will be able to access fast broadband regardless of where they live. More and more Australians are getting the message that within two years fast broadband will be a reality and, unlike Labor’s fraudulent proposal, Australians will not have to wait until 2013 to receive improved services. Unlike the Labor Party, our plan covers all Australians regardless of where they live, instead of leaving out three million households and the most needy Australians.

This is a complex piece of technology with a complex contract that is being rolled out. As I said the other day, the implementation will be subject to a detailed implementation plan together with consultation with all stakeholders as to the optimum placement of towers for the rollout. This is in stark contrast to the Labor Party, which for the past five months has not even had a plan, has had no idea where any network would go and has been absolutely misleading about the capacity of its plan to deliver even to about three-quarters of Australians, let alone to all Australians. I can understand that it is agitating the Labor Party enormously that this government has been successful in being able to roll out a whole new independent network that has absolutely nothing to do with—

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

I rise on a point of order. Mr President, can you draw the attention of the minister to the question that I asked. I specifically asked what the minimum broadband speeds will be, what the maximum retail price will be and how much money OPEL will be contributing. This contract is already signed.

Alan Ferguson (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am listening carefully to the minister’s answer and there is no point of order.

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

Under the new initiative, 1,361 new WiMAX sites will be built, 426 very fast ADSL2+ exchanges will be enabled, about 15,000 kilometres of backhaul will be built, and that will deliver approximately a 30 per cent reduction in the wholesale price of backhaul. The speeds have been well and truly publicised and were put out again in my press release. I do not know whether Senator Conroy is having trouble reading, but it has now been said ad nauseam that the speeds will be 6 to 12 megabits by 2009 and that retail metropolitan prices will be between $30 and $35 to $60. The Labor Party does not have any prices at all. This is a farce on the part of the Labor Party. They are asking questions about a delivered, costed contract when all they have is a flimsy piece of paper.

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. Given that the minister cannot reveal the most basic requirements of an already signed agreement, how can government MPs continue to mail out fraudulent propaganda like this which misleads the Australian public? Can the minister confirm that these maps show a 20 km radius around the tower but OPEL have admitted that the range is only in the order of 6 km from their towers, slashing your claimed coverage in these fraudulent maps that you are distributing?

Alan Ferguson (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I remind Senator Conroy of standing orders and the waving of documents in the chamber.

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

I realise that this has hit a real raw nerve for the Labor Party, and I again repeat my challenge to Mr Rudd and the Labor Party: what are you hiding, what are you afraid of? Come clean with your costings, your coverage maps and your technical details about your broadband proposals for the full scrutiny of the Australian public. We all know that Mr Rudd cannot stand up to the states, cannot stand up to the unions and certainly will not be able to stand up to Telstra. He has absolutely nothing to offer the Australian public on broadband.