George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Attorney-General) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Conroy. On what date was the 400-page business plan for the National Broadband Network received by the government?

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

I thank Senator Brandis for his newly acquired interest in this topic. The business plan which we have received was a comprehensive document that examines the whole—

George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Attorney-General) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

What date?

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

So now I am to be interrupted by interjections on how to answer.

John Hogg (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Conroy, just ignore the interjections.

George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Attorney-General) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I rise on a point of order. In view of the observation Senator Conroy made, I am only interested in the date. That is the only thing the question is about.

Joe Ludwig (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Manager of Government Business in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, on the point of order, which apparently is not really a point of order, it would be helpful if the opposition indicated at the outset what point of order they are actually taking. One could not guess from a restatement or at least a short statement about what Senator Brandis thinks his question now is. From the opposition’s perspective, they are entitled to ask a question and a supplementary question and a further supplementary question but not to use a point of order to rephrase the primary question.

John Hogg (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator, this is not the time for debate on either side. Question time is a time for questions to be asked and answers to be given and not for interjections to override the questions. Interjections do not help question time in any way whatsoever. The minister has been going for 21 seconds. There are two minutes allocated for answering questions. The minister has a minute and 39 seconds remaining to answer the question.

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

Mr President, thank you for again pointing out that the opposition cannot dictate how a question is answered. You can ask the question and I will—

George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Attorney-General) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

What’s the date?

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

If you stop interjecting and hollering across the chamber, I will get to the answer. The business case is a detailed document that, once again I repeat, reinforces the business case that McKinsey presented. It reinforces that the NBN is financially viable and delivers cheap and affordable broadband to all Australians. That is what the business case—

John Hogg (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Conroy, I draw your attention to the question.

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

Thank you, Mr President. I appreciate that you are not directing me on how to answer the question.

John Hogg (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Conroy, you now have 45 seconds remaining to address the question.

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

Thank you. I am talking about the business case, which is what I have been asked about.

Opposition Senators:

Opposition senators interjecting—

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

Those opposite may want to screech long and loud through this two-minute answer, but the bottom line about the business case is that it delivers an affordable broadband for all Australians.

John Hogg (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Conroy, I draw your attention to the question.

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

Thank you, Mr President. I appreciate your advice.

George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Attorney-General) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I rise on a point of order. The minister, in addressing you in that dismissive and contemptuous way—‘Mr President, I appreciate your advice’—has shown total disregard for your authority in the chair. If ever a president in command of this chamber were to sit a senator down, you ought to do that to this minister now.

John Hogg (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Brandis, that is not a point of order. Senator Conroy, you have 14 seconds remaining to answer the question.

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

Thank you, Mr President. I appreciate you are refusing to be bullied by those opposite.

John Hogg (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Conroy, I do not ask you to comment.

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

You are refusing to be bullied by the continual campaign of those opposite. Let me be clear: the business plan was delivered two weeks ago, which I think makes it 8 November. (Time expired)

Honourable Senators:

Honourable senators interjecting—

John Hogg (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Debating this across the chamber is not helpful during question time. The time to debate is at the end of question time.

George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Attorney-General) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. How could it possibly take a competent government 14 days to read a 400-page document so as to identify and, where relevant, redact confidential information?

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

That question is based on an entirely false premise. This is a detailed document that contains—

George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Attorney-General) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is only 400 pages long.

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

I know it involves a business plan—something that you, as a lawyer, are not familiar with, Senator Brandis—and this is a detailed business plan which, once again I repeat, confirms that the NBN delivers a financially viable business case with cheap and affordable broadband for all Australians. Eighty-four per cent of people in Willunga have signed up to receive the NBN; 87 per cent in Armidale. Those opposite—

Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

How does this relate?

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

Because the question was based on a completely false premise. When you want to stand up and make an argument in the question—(Time expired)

George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Attorney-General) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question. Given that it is beyond the competency of this minister to read a document at a rate of more than 29 pages a day, isn’t it the case that the government has already identified the confidential information in the document and that it is hiding behind this excuse to prevent parliamentary scrutiny and to protect a minister who is fast losing the confidence of the public and the markets?

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

I did not actually hear a question there, but I am happy to respond. Yet again, those opposite have got to explain to the people of Australia, because Senator Barnaby Joyce let the cat out of the bag last week. For all the pomposity from those opposite, Senator Joyce let the cat out of the bag when he said, ‘It’s not about the details; it’s about destroying the NBN. That will mean we can destroy the government.’ That is what Senator Joyce said last week. The cant and the hypocrisy which some of those opposite, particularly the questioners, like to display regularly in question time has been exposed—out of the mouth of Senator Joyce. You are not interested in transparency—

Honourable Senators:

Honourable senators interjecting—

John Hogg (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Conroy, resume your seat for a moment. I will ask you to continue when there is silence on both sides.

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

Senator Joyce has exposed the fraud of this question, the fraud of those opposite. They are interested in demolishing the NBN.

Doug Cameron (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Finance and Deregulation, Senator Wong. Can the minister inform the Senate about the productivity benefits of rolling out high-speed broadband across the country? How will improvements in broadband speeds and broadband penetration help to grow the Australian economy?

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Finance and Deregulation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am very pleased to answer that question from Senator Cameron and to remind the chamber yet again that this is a reform not only for the communications sector but also for the Australian economy. It is an economic reform, and that is how we should regard it. We know that we need to improve broadband in this country. We know that in 2007 our broadband speeds lagged behind some 26 OECD countries. We have been ranked in the bottom half in terms of broadband penetration, and we know we have a problem. This is a government that has committed to fix it.

The National Broadband Network is vital to our national economic success. It will create a competitive telecommunications sector that will benefit all Australian households and businesses, regardless of where they are located. It will help drive long-term productivity growth in our economy, and Australians from all over the country, from all walks of life, will have access to affordable, fast broadband.

A report by the United Nations, to which my colleague Senator Conroy has previously referred, has estimated that for every 10 per cent increase in broadband penetration we can expect an average 1.3 per cent additional GDP growth. These are the types of productivity benefits that are put at risk by an opposition that remains determined to wreck this reform and to wreck any reform.

Senator Joyce was very open about this over the last few days. He was not interested in discussing the benefits for regional Australia, he was not interested in discussing the economic benefits. What he made clear was the political agenda that lies behind the opposition’s approach, and that is nothing except wrecking this reform for their own political gain and putting their political gain ahead of the national interest. (Time expired)

Doug Cameron (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. Minister, in light of these benefits, can you update the Senate on the importance to consumers of implementing these reforms to the telecommunications sector? What are the risks to consumers from delay?

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Finance and Deregulation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As I said, this is an overdue reform that will boost productivity growth in our economy. It is also a reform that will deliver better services to Australian consumers and Australian businesses. It is of particular benefit—and I would have thought the National Party would have considered this—to Australians in rural and regional Australia, who, despite their geographic isolation, will be able to use broadband quickly and efficiently to connect to the rest of Australia and to the world.

I am asked about some of the risks to consumers. We know that delays in implementing this reform will mean high prices and less competition. We know that this will hold back innovative improvements to the way in which Australians can do business, but unfortunately we also know that the opposition has only one priority. As Senator Joyce reminded us:

It is the reason the independents backed them … If we pull this card out, if this card falls, the whole show comes down.

(Time expired)

Doug Cameron (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question. Can the minister outline to the Senate any alternative approaches to the issue of reform of Australia’s broadband network?

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Finance and Deregulation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We on this side of the chamber understand that it is not acceptable to continue to have broadband speeds that lag behind our OECD counterparts and our competitors. We understand that it is not acceptable to have broadband that is not acceptable to all of Australia—our regions as well as our cities. Paradoxically, those on the other side seem to be quite happy to accept the status quo when it comes to broadband. That is because they know only one approach when it comes to this reform and any reform, and that is to wreck and block. They are nothing but wreckers.

What is interesting about what Senator Joyce said is that he told the Australian people what the real agenda is here: the political position of the opposition. It is about their perceived political gain. They are not interested in policy. Senator Joyce is not interested in broadband for the regions. He is not interested in that. He is not interested in broadband for regional Australia.