Catryna Bilyk (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 advise the Senate of the direct contribution of the National Broadband Network to Australia's economy? In particular, what does the NBN mean for jobs and investment?

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

I thank Senator Bilyk for her question and her interest in the NBN. The National Broadband Network is generating new jobs and new investment in our economy. NBN Co. has awarded contracts worth more than $2 billion to companies operating in Australia that provide equipment for NBN installation in homes and businesses.

Prysmian, Corning and Warren & Brown are just three examples of the new investments and job opportunities flowing from the National Broadband Network. Last week I visited the Prysmian plant at Dee Why on Sydney's northern beaches. Prysmian has invested more than $11 million to manufacture the specialised ribbon fibreoptic cables being used for the NBN—one of those you can see here. There are 576 fibres in that cable. The five-year contract ensures job certainty for the 125 Dee Why staff, and up to 50 new local jobs will also be created.

In May I visited the expanded Corning facility in Clayton, Victoria, where they will manufacture optical fibre cable and hardware. This company is investing up to $40 million in its Clayton operations, adding around 300 to 400 new jobs during the peak of the NBN rollout. Warren & Brown Technologies have been awarded contracts for fibre wall outlets and other equipment. The NBN contracts have resulted in 40 new jobs in their state-of-the-art facility in Maidstone, Melbourne.

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

Mr President, I raise a point of order on relevance. Might the minister, in responding to Senator Bilyk's question, tell the Senate how many customers the NBN has.

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

That is not point of order.

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

The NBN is creating new jobs, new investment in cable plant and new research and development in Australia.

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

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. Can the minister provide any further information about jobs directly created by the NBN? In particular, can the minister provide information on jobs being created in the private sector?

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

Apart from the jobs created in places like Prysmian, Corning and Warren & Brown, the NBN is a massive engineering exercise. NBN has contracted with leading firms like Transfield, Silcar, Syntheo, VisionStream and Siemens for the construction of the NBN. Today those contractors employ more than 1,000 workers to build the National Broadband Network. At peak there will be more than 16,000 private sector workers building the fibre network alone. Those contractors will be installing the fibre being manufactured at Corning and Prysmian. And you will know when the NBN is being installed when you see these contractors pulling this green fibre cable through the Telstra ducts. Only one thing can threaten that. (Time expired)

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

Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question. Can the minister advise what risks there are to these jobs and this investment?

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

And tell us how many customers you have got.

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

Seventeen thousand—again! The single biggest risk to these jobs—

Opposition Senators:

Opposition senators interjecting—

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

Senator Conroy, please resume your seat. When there is silence we will proceed.

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. The single biggest risk to those jobs—the 16,000 and the hundreds and hundreds manufacturing fibre—is, of course, those opposite and the Leader of the Opposition, Mr Abbott. The Leader of the Opposition described the NBN as a 'great leap backwards'. He told the Sydney Institute, 'We won't keep Labor's NBN because there is no need for it.' The opposition will not even commit to a network that can deliver the 50-megabyte services the Victorian government says that 350,000 Victorians are demanding. Very simply, they want to build, as Citibank stated, a cheap and dirty network. A one-lane Sydney Harbour Bridge is all you are happy— (Time expired)