Catryna Bilyk (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak to the NBN Co. Ltd report. I was really delighted to be present on 1 March when the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator the Honourable. Stephen Conroy announced stage 3 of the delivery of the Rudd government’s National Broadband Network in Tasmania. Minister Conroy was the bearer of some exciting news for Tasmanians on a significant expansion of the rollout in this state. Minister Conroy announced that the Rudd government will make an equity injection for $100 million into my home state, Tasmania, through the Tasmanian NBN company to facilitate the further rollout of the fibre-to-the-home broadband. This is stage 3 of the NBN rollout and it will extend delivery to 90,000 premises in the major population centres of Hobart, Launceston, Devonport and Burnie. Detailed design work is now underway with 40,000 premises in Hobart, 30,000 in Launceston and 10,000 each in Burnie and Devonport to receive access to optic fibre.

The Rudd government’s $100 million investment will mean that, combined with the first two stages, the NBN rollout in Tasmania has now risen to around 100,000 premises, including homes, businesses, schools and hospitals. This work will connect communities which are mostly underserviced with high-speed optical fibre broadband. The National Broadband Network will change the fabric of our nation, and it is wonderful that Tasmanians will be the first to benefit. The National Broadband Network is about more than just high-speed telecommunications. It is about better access to health services for Tasmanian families. It is about better education opportunities for Tasmanian kids. It is about creating new business opportunities and stimulating Tasmania’s economy. And it is about creating and keeping jobs in Tasmania.

Leading key Tasmanian industry players have strongly endorsed the NBN project. Robert Wallace, CEO of the Tasmanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, says that broadband is the business tool of the future. He states:

This will certainly allow us to interface with our customers and our consumers far more efficiently and more cost effective.

The President of the Tasmanian ICT, Darren Alexander, has said that the rollout of the NBN in Tasmania provides ‘an opportunity to be one of the best and to be the first to be able to be driving this project’. Chris Oldfield, Chief Executive of the Tasmanian Farmers and Graziers Association states:

For farming it will be revolutionary. It will change forever what we do and the way we do it.

The strong working relationship between the Rudd and Bartlett governments has been fundamental to bringing the NBN to Tasmania. The Rudd government appreciates the hard work and support of the Bartlett government. The Tasmanian Labor government knew a good opportunity when they saw it, and they capitalised on it by making a compelling bid to the government’s RFP processes last year. The Bartlett government has put Tasmania at the forefront of broadband transformation in this country.

Yet the leader of the federal opposition continues to actively oppose the NBN—a position he first mooted in his maiden speech to the House of Representatives as opposition leader late last year. Mr Abbott is apparently oblivious to the need for Australia to be at the forefront of the rapidly developing information superhighway and ignorant of the opportunities which I have just outlined. He would actively seek to deny not just Tasmanian but all Australian citizens and businesses the opportunity to fully participate in the global information age. I call on the Tasmanian federal Liberal Party representatives and the leader of the Tasmanian Liberals, Will Hodgman, who professes his support for the NBN rollout in Tasmania, to condemn the short-sighted and ignorant policy stance of their federal leader. I seek leave to continue my remarks later.

Leave granted.

Michael Ronaldson (Victoria, Liberal Party, Shadow Special Minister of State and Scrutiny of Government Waste) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am afraid I cannot let the comments of the good senator go by without some comment. As Senator Bilyk knows, I consider her a good colleague. But, if she honestly thinks that on the eve of a Tasmanian election the voters in Tasmania are going to judge the Labor Party, both state and federal, positively on the back of the NBN, I would be utterly amazed. If the Australian Labor Party are allowed to get away with $43 billion of unfunded expenditure, without a business plan, the people who will suffer will be the people of Tasmania—the federal government will put this country into so much debt that the good people of Tasmania will not be able to get the services that they clearly deserve.

Senator Bilyk’s leader, who has rushed into the NBN, the Home Insulation Program and the Green Loans Program for cheap political purposes, is exposing Senator Bilyk’s fellow Tasmanians to excessive debt. Your fellow Tasmanians, Senator—through you, Madam Acting Deputy President—will be required to pay off the debt of Kevin Rudd, the Prime Minister, and your party. The good people of Tasmania, who will need doctors and hospitals, and roads and other infrastructure, will not be able to access those services because the Australian Labor Party will have spent and spent, putting this country into enormous debt. It beggars belief that they can justify spending $43 billion without a business plan. I do not for one minute think that Senator Bilyk can honestly accept that that sort of expenditure, which will leave the people of Tasmania exposed, is an appropriate use of taxpayer funds. I do not for one minute believe that she could honestly believe that.

I want you, Senator Bilyk, to think, please, about what your response is going to be when you start getting letters from constituents who cannot get a doctor, who cannot get additions to their hospitals, who cannot get their roads built and who cannot get other government services. What is your response going to be? Regrettably, it is not going to be: ‘I stood up for you by opposing this wanton expenditure. There was no justification for it.’ When you can say that, I will have some sympathy for you.

Claire Moore (Queensland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Ronaldson, I know you are directing that through the chair.

Michael Ronaldson (Victoria, Liberal Party, Shadow Special Minister of State and Scrutiny of Government Waste) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am sorry, Madam Acting Deputy President—I am indeed. There is not one Tasmanian in this place. I can see at least two of my colleagues who are going to contribute to this and other debates. What they want you to do, Senator Bilyk—through you, Madam Acting Deputy President—is to say to the people of Tasmania, ‘I will oppose this wanton expenditure so you can get the services you deserve in due course.’ I suspect, Senator Bilyk—through you, Madam Acting Deputy President—that you will be here for some time, so you will have plenty of time to see the dramatic outcomes of this expenditure.

The people of Tasmania deserve better. On Saturday week I am convinced they are going to start the process of putting in place people who actually know something about the economy and about managing responsibility: a Liberal government. That is just the start of it for the people of Tasmania. Senator Bilyk, if you come across to this side of the chamber and we go where you are presently, there will be a chance for them to get even better services.

Gavin Marshall (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Ronaldson being a Victorian, I am not sure what role he sees fit to play in the Tasmanian election. The volume and theatrics of Senator Ronaldson’s contribution are no substitute for substance. People should take a bit of a cold shower. We are talking about the provision of a world-class, fast broadband system, which this country has lacked for so long. On this issue, the previous government, in their 11 long years, fiddled and mucked around and could not work out what to do. They had 10 different plans and could not get one of them implemented. They left this country far short of anything world-class or reliable that would underpin our economy, our education system, our future and our economic development.

In this very important debate, Senator Ronaldson flippantly linked the provision of that world-class system to the lack of doctors, roads and other things in Tasmania. I know state elections do funny things to people, but maybe we should leave that to the Tasmanians. Senator Ronaldson, I know you like to speak in here and put on a good show—I must say I normally enjoy it—but let’s come back down to earth. The debate about the broadband system is a debate we are very happy to have, but to try to link it in some way to the provision of state services is to draw an incredibly long bow. I will leave my comments there. In case anyone listening thought there was any veracity to the linkages that Senator Ronaldson made, I just wanted to make those comments to put that to bed.

Guy Barnett (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Chairman of the Scrutiny of Government Waste Committee) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I want to respond to some of the comments that have been made, particularly those of Senator Bilyk. I do not know exactly what she said, but I do know what is happening in Tasmania and that is that there is no business plan and no detail about the exact costs to the user of that broadband service or about the estimated costs of this rollout in Tasmania. It was estimated at $700 million, and Senator Conroy and, indeed, the Prime Minister are advocating this $100 million injection. Senator Conroy could not detail what has happened to the other money, when I asked him a question in this chamber the other day. Where is the remaining money from the $700 million? He talked about a $100 million investment. What has happened to the other $600 million and who is paying for it—is it federal or state? We do not know. He does not know what the take-up rate is either and yet all of this is meant to happen magically in July. This is a government that is in the never-never with its plans. It is flying kites; it is hot air. There is no detail—and the devil, of course, is always in the detail. These are critical decisions. Would any business in its right mind, small or large, proceed with such a large investment with no business plan? We ask time and again for a business plan, but they do not have it.

I also want to refer to the NBN and the RFP, the request for proposals process, which is deemed an absolute flop, a dud and a big-time, total and shocking waste of taxpayers’ money. The Auditor-General’s Report No. 20 of 2009-10, Performance audit—The national broadband network request for proposal process: Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, was tabled in this chamber some weeks ago. There was a confirmed, on the public record, $30 million wasted—$17 million of that was taxpayers’ money. The department’s cost was shocking and the $13 million from the proponents and others has, unfortunately, been wasted. The Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit held a public hearing today with the Secretary of the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy regarding this important rollout. The audit report and the hearing have been quite revealing. From the advice that we received today in answer to questions from Mr Georgiou, Ms Ley, me and others, it seems quite clear to me that the department informed the minister responsible and he was made fully aware of all the key risks and their significance for a successful outcome to the RFP process. We were advised by the department this morning that that information—that advice—was given to the minister right throughout the process, including in and around September, when the Frontier Economics report was given to the department. That report indicated the level of compensation, literally in the billions of dollars, that would have to be paid to Telstra if one of the other bidders was successful in the tender process.

They have taken that on notice and have advised that they would get back to the committee with their answer—but they did say that, according to them, the minister was advised. They have taken that on notice to check and confirm that that is the case. I have asked them the time and date when that advice was given to the minister. The minister was in here not so long ago saying, from my understanding and from my recollection, that he could not recall exactly but he did not think that he was formally advised until around January or February this year. Let us watch this space and see exactly what happened when. We want to know. I asked for a breakdown of the $17 million cost to the taxpayer, including the cost of the external consultants and others. There was a risk to the Commonwealth. That was identified to the government and specifically to the minister, according to the secretary of the department and the other official at the hearing today. The government is and potentially could be in a lot of hot water. It is already in hot water, but the hot water could be getting extreme—even hotter still. (Time expired)

Kerry O'Brien (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am not sure where the hot water is coming from, but I would have to say that if that contribution is the basis for the hot water I do not think we are lukewarm yet. I would have to say that on this particular matter you have on one side the Labor Party, which has shown foresight, and on the other you have the negative, nitpicking opposition, who are opposing everything. That has been made clear by their new leader—the fourth leader since the election, is he?—Mr Abbott, whose position is to oppose everything. So we are going to get this negativism on every single issue and we are going to see the coalition padding out the speakers list on the bill before the chamber. They are filibustering in that debate so it does not come to a vote, but they have indicated that they are going to vote against it—yet another filibuster. We have had two filibusters on the CPRS: one on each of the occasions the bills have come to this chamber. It was the same thing on the fairer private health insurance legislation. The coalition know they are going to vote against every bill that comes here. They seem to say, ‘Not only are we going to do that but we are going to take the maximum amount of debating time and be as negative and frustrating as possible.’

Returning to the issue of the National Broadband Network, I go back to the days of former Premier, now deceased, Jim Bacon. When the natural gas rollout was taking place in Tasmania he made sure when those pipelines were laid in the ground that laid with them was fibre-optic cable for the future of networks just such as the National Broadband Network. It was a bit of Labor foresight. And what did we have then? The negativism of the Liberals saying that it would never work, would never come to use and was a waste of money and asking why we were spending this money.

Let us see why. Tasmania is getting, and will be the first to get, a national broadband network as part of a national Labor government’s foresight initiative to provide 21st century-and-beyond assistance for the state of Tasmania—a state that has gone, when the Bacon Labor government came in, from the worst unemployment in the nation to better than the national average. That was through the foresight and hard work of Labor. Of course, it will be said by those opposite that we should not take account of that; there are reasons that they should be elected. In the period before the Bacon government, Tasmania with a Liberal-Greens arrangement fell behind even further than it was before. And, if they get their way, what are we going to be looking at after the election? They will not get majority government. It will be a Hodgman-McKim government. That is what they are aiming at.

We think that we will get a majority Labor government, and we are working hard towards that. But they on the other side will be keen to do whatever deal they can to get into government. When it comes to the National Broadband Network, until Mr Abbott made his statement that the federal Liberal Party would oppose the network, Mr Hodgman, the leader of the Tasmanian Liberals, supported it. He thought it was a good idea. He thought it was in the interests of Tasmania. Since then he has gone quiet on the issue. He is now in the position where, whenever he says something about it, either he is opposed to the development of a 21st century network for Tasmania—and the Tasmanian people will judge him on it—or he is going to contradict his federal leader. He is not strong enough to do that, let us be frank. So I suppose he has been rolled.

Catryna Bilyk (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Bilyk interjecting—

Kerry O'Brien (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Bilyk, I accept your interjection. Of course, Senator Abetz might have applied some pressure to make sure that Mr Hodgman did not step out of line with the federal Liberal Party. Here we have a proposition on which Tasmania is going to lead the nation, and what are we seeing from those opposite, particularly the Tasmanian senators? We are seeing a reason why it should not happen. As for the question of who is going to pay the money, of course the overall price of the network will ultimately be shared with a number of investors, and all this talk about $43 billion is nonsense. (Time expired)

Stephen Parry (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I also will speak to the document relating to NBN Co. Ltd. When Senator Bilyk was saying that the NBN will save the state Labor government and then Senator O’Brien made his contribution, I thought I was at the Melbourne Comedy Festival. I did not think I was in the Senate chamber. It was unbelievable. After the assertion that Labor was going to win a majority, I just refer Senator O’Brien to iElect.com.au. Thousands and thousands of people have been prepolled on this and have indicated their voting intentions. It shows as recently as this afternoon Liberal 13, Labor nine. I think that is quite a telling thing. Senator O’Brien, go back and have a look at that.

Kerry O'Brien (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator O’Brien interjecting—

Stephen Parry (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am not going to take a wager in the chamber with you, Senator O’Brien, but after the debate I might talk to you outside about that matter. We will have a result fairly soon. Senator O’Brien dismisses the National Broadband Network by saying, ‘Don’t worry about where the money is coming from.’ Goodness gracious me! That is exactly what we are worried about. We are worried about how these things are going to be funded and when it is going to be rolled out. You will talk it up between now and 20 March, but post 20 March there will be not a word said. The judgment will be how effective this is in the future if it all gets off the ground. I hold very little hope for this. To Senator O’Brien and Senator Bilyk: the sooner the Labor government in Tasmania is removed from office the better.

Mary Fisher (SA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise on the same matter, which is the NBN Co’s 2008-09 annual report. On the face of it, it looks like a pretty standard annual report. It refers to the Australian taxpayers’ money that NBN Co. had the pleasure of spending in the 2008-09 year. I guess for some that might be pretty standard, but what is not so standard about this annual report of NBN Co. is that at the same time it refers to spending taxpayers’ money it has delivered nil progress—nil progress on the government’s National Broadband Network.

We see here the flavour of the megabucks—the taxpayers’ dollars—being spent by this government on NBN Co. and on the NBN itself, and we have still not got one new service provided as part of Labor’s NBN. Not one new internet connection has been provided as part of Labor’s rollout of the NBN. We are spending plenty of the bucks and not delivering any of the bits. The NBN Co annual report tragically is the foretaste of things to come, because the government has hardly given us confidence that it is to be anything other than the foretaste of things to come. The government has failed and failed again to explain to the Australian people what they are going to get as part of the National Broadband Network—when they are going to get it, how they are going to get it, where they are going to get it, who is going to get wireless, who is going to get satellite, who is going to get fibre to the home and how much they are going to have to pay for the pleasure. Instead, the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Conroy, says that all this will be answered by his now infamous implementation study—the network design, the rollout schedule, and how much it will cost. Where is the implementation study? He said it was due by the end of February. The end of February has come and gone; March—on the march. The minister told the parliament yesterday, ‘I have got it, I have got the implementation study, but nyaa, nyaa, nyaa, you can’t see it.’

Kerry O'Brien (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

He would not have said that.

Mary Fisher (SA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

He might as well have. He might as well have said, ‘Nyaa, nyaa, nyaa, nyaa—you can’t see it!’ He might as well have said: ‘Australian taxpayers, you’ve paid $25 million to get this implementation study. I’m not even going to give you 25 minutes a million to look at it.’ He might as well have said to the Australian parliament: ‘We spent nine months getting this jolly thing. We’re not even going to give the Australian parliament nine minutes to look at it.’

The questions are piling up and the answers have never been provided. It is little wonder that the Australian public are left wondering. There is nothing to do other than to think that the National Broadband Network stands for ‘nobody knows’—nobody knows who is going to get what with the NBN. Nobody knows when they are going to get it, where they are going to get it or how much they are going to have to pay for the privilege, least of all Rudd Labor and least of all Minister Conroy. If Minister Conroy does know some of the answers, he ain’t telling us, and you have to ask: why would that be? Why would Minister Conroy not be showing us his now infamous implementation study, which has the answers—he has told us it will have the answers to life, the universe and everything! Bring it on, Minister, and convince the Australian public that National Broadband Network does stand for something other than ‘nobody knows’. I seek leave to continue my remarks later.

Leave granted; debate adjourned.

Stephen Parry (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to correct the record from a statement I made a while ago.

Leave not granted.