Lisa Singh (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Conroy. Can the minister please inform the Senate of any international approaches to broadband infrastructure deployment that he is aware of?

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

I thank the senator for her question and her continued interest in the NBN. In an interview earlier this year Mr Turnbull claimed that it was 'very difficult to think of many applications that are of interest to residential users that would not be perfectly well serviced by the speeds I've described'—12 to potentially 25 meg. After returning from a recent trip to Europe, Mr Turnbull even claimed to have met telecommunications executives, quoting one senior official as describing the Australian NBN policy as being 'from our point of view, completely crazy'.

Mr Turnbull perhaps has not noticed the recent policy announcement by the European Union. They announced their Connecting Europe Facility proposal, with a goal of achieving ubiquitous access to speeds of a minimum of 30 megabits across Europe by 2020, with at least 50 per cent of European households subscribing to broadband speeds of 100 megabits by 2020 as well. None other than the Vice-President of the European Commission, Neelie Kroes, has said that access to the right high-speed broadband infrastructure could deliver over one trillion euros in additional economic activity to the EU within 10 years, while increasing broadband penetration by 10 per cent would increase Europe's annual GDP growth by up to 1.5 per cent.

So it is unfortunate that Mr Turnbull continues to wander around Australia misleading Australians, claiming we do not need this new infrastructure, that all will be right. Yet Citibank described that policy as obsolete and 'out of date by the time it finished'. (Time expired)

Lisa Singh (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. Given the European Union's recent announcements concerning the increased investment in broadband infrastructure, can the minister advise the Senate of ways in which the Australian government is continuing to invest in broadband infrastructure?

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

On Monday, I announced the completion of the Broken Hill link as part of the Gillard government's Regional Backbone Blackspots Program. This 1,150-kilometre fibre-optic link will give retail service providers the opportunity to offer faster and cheaper broadband to around 137,000 people along the route. Our investment in the RBBP is today allowing families in regional Australia to access broadband services that are up to 10 times faster with double the download quota for the same monthly price. It is regional Australians who continue to call for the accelerated rollout of the NBN. In fact, just this week Mr Warren Entsch from the other chamber said Cairns is in 'desperate need to secure high-speed broadband' and he was 'demanding Cairns is included in the next rollout'. (Time expired)

Lisa Singh (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question. Can the minister advise the Senate if there are any other communities who strongly support the NBN rollout?

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

The Gillard government remains focused on delivering the NBN for all Australians. Unfortunately, Mr Abbott and Mr Turnbull continue to advocate an end to the NBN fibre rollout, denying 70 per cent of regional Australia and the majority of people in metropolitan cities access to a world-class fibre network. Despite Mr Turnbull continuing to claim that the country does not need a fibre-to-the-home network or faster speeds, the Mayor of Waverley Council, in Mr Turnbull's own electorate, recently wrote to me and said, 'I cannot agree with the comments from the MP Malcolm Turnbull regarding his belief that the people of Wentworth, of which Waverley represents around half, do not need an NBN upgrade, as I know for a fact that many Waverley residents not only welcome the faster broadband connections promised by the NBN but see it as an integral and mandatory part of their daily lives.' (Time expired)