Anne Ruston (SA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Assistant Minister for Social Services, Senator Fifield, representing the Minister for Communications. Can the minister update the Senate on how the government is rolling out the National Broadband Network in an efficient and timely manner?

Mitch Fifield (Victoria, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Social Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Ruston for her question and acknowledge her sterling chairing of the Senate Environment and Communications Committee. I am very pleased to inform the Senate that, as announced by the minister last week, the NBN will embark on one of Australia's largest workforce training initiatives to ensure that the network can be rolled out sooner and at less cost to the taxpayer.

Senator Conroy interjecting—

Stephen Parry (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Conroy!

Mitch Fifield (Victoria, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Social Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Under the workforce training scheme, the NBN will work with delivery partners to recruit and train around 4½ thousand workers. This will see the current project construction workforce double, with around 9,000 workers employed at the peak of the rollout. This will address identified skill shortages. NBN will work with partners to ensure that trained workers have jobs after their training and stay working on the project and in the telecoms industry as the project proceeds. Importantly, the scheme will target both school leavers and people who have worked in the industry who require retraining.

Senator Conroy interjecting—

Stephen Parry (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Conroy!

Mitch Fifield (Victoria, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Social Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The NBN is the largest infrastructure project in the nation's history. It is certainly the most complex. Each day the project is being rolled out on hundreds of work fronts across the country, so it is absolutely essential that we have enough people to roll out the network as we increase the pace of the rollout.

Anne Ruston (SA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. Can the minister outline to the Senate what the NBN is doing to create jobs in my home state of South Australia?

Mitch Fifield (Victoria, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Social Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We do know that South Australia does face significant economic challenges after 13 years of Labor mismanagement in that state. As a result, it has the highest unemployment rate in the country. I am therefore very pleased to inform the Senate that the NBN is creating 400 new jobs in South Australia. The minister visited local contractor Fulton Hogan last week, which announced that it will more than double its 150-strong local workforce. SA Power Networks will also be adding jobs in South Australia. That is good news for South Australia. There is also good news for other states, with 1,300 jobs in New South Wales and the ACT, 900 jobs in the west, 900 jobs in Queensland, 800 jobs in Victoria, 200 jobs in Tasmania and 50 jobs in the Northern Territory. That is unequivocally good news.

Anne Ruston (SA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question. Can the minister inform the Senate about how the training and jobs program he referred to in the first part of his answer will help the NBN meet its rollout target to deliver fast broadband to Australians sooner?

Mitch Fifield (Victoria, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Social Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

NBN does have an ambitious rollout target. Connecting all Australians by 2020 is not an easy feat but, as I have previously advised, for the first time and only under the coalition NBN is now meeting its rollout target. As you would expect, the application of the organisation will only increase as the NBN rollout targets are ramping up and as the NBN is connecting millions of premises annually over the next few years. This program will help provide the skilled workforce that the NBN needs to meet this huge task. Under its new management, NBN is committed to meeting its targets, and it is actually delivering. It is quite clear—certainly to those on this side—that only the coalition has the capacity and the skills to make sure that a project of this complexity is delivered at lower cost and in better form. (Time expired)