Fiona Nash (NSW, National Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Water Resources and Conservation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Conroy. I refer to the minister’s recent reaffirmation of the government’s commitment to deliver a fibre-to-the-node broadband service to 98 per cent of Australian homes and businesses. Isn’t the minister aware that not one of the proposals submitted to the expert panel provides for 98 per cent of Australian homes and businesses to receive a fibre-to-the-node service?

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

I thank Senator Nash for her question and her ongoing interest. I have not yet actually received a briefing from the department or the expert panel about what is contained in the bids. The process is that, next weekend, the proponents will be making presentations to the expert panel and then I will be in a position where I will have some further information—not that I would be intending to discuss it publicly, as I have said, because there is no way that, in the middle—

Nick Minchin (SA, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

They’ve all said publicly it can’t be done. Don’t you read the newspapers?

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

Senator Minchin, you have fallen for that trap a couple of times now—through you, Mr President. Senator Minchin has unfortunately fallen for that trap. One proponent, I note, in the media said recently, ‘Of course we could reach 98 per cent if the government gave us more money.’ What a surprise! What a surprise that, in a live tender process, some proponents may actually want to minimise the amount of money that they will put forward and maximise the amount of money that the taxpayers put forward. What we have created is competitive tension among the proponents. So we are in a much, much stronger position than those opposite were when they ran their sham of a process revolving around Broadband Connect.

Helen Coonan (NSW, Liberal Party, Manager of Opposition Business in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Coonan interjecting—

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

Senator Coonan keeps interjecting because she does not want the chamber to hear exactly what a sham process was run under the last government. The former minister changed the— (Time expired)

Fiona Nash (NSW, National Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Water Resources and Conservation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. I ask the minister: wasn’t respected telecommunications analyst Paul Budde right in his evidence to the Senate select committee that fibre to the node beyond 91 per cent was ‘silly’ and ‘not necessary’ and that you could spend all your $4 billion on the last two to four per cent of the 98 per cent, which would make no sense?

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

Whether 98 per cent coverage is achievable, the competitive tension in the government’s NBN process will maximise coverage outcomes. At the end of the day, we are happy to be judged on what the winning proposal delivers, because it is the clearly stated election commitment to deliver 98 per cent. So I am not going to be drawn into any individual commentary on individual tenders. I am not going to be drawn into individual commentary on experts who know far more about it than most of those opposite, like Paul Budde. I am not going to be drawn into commenting on the process.

In contrast, the Howard government was happy to accept an FTTN network that covered only—quoting here directly—the capital cities— (Time expired)

Fiona Nash (NSW, National Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Water Resources and Conservation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question. Wasn’t Telstra right when it said in evidence to the Senate select committee that a much bigger contribution from the government than $4.7 billion would be required to roll out fibre to the node to 98 per cent?

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

This is one of the problems when you have prewritten your questions, like Senator Nash has. I have actually already answered the question she has now asked. Let us be clear: Senator Nash signed her name, along with Senator Joyce, to the proposition of the Page research foundation, that National Party think tank. I know, Senator Macdonald, you will laugh at the concept of a National Party think tank, but they actually put forward a proposition of fibre to the home to 99 per cent of regional Australians. That is actually what Senator Nash and Senator Joyce signed up to, yet they turn up in this place and they decide they want to criticise this government for the election commitment of 98 per cent. Labor is not prepared to abandon rural and regional Australia in the way the former government did. Five capital cities— (Time expired)