Dean Smith (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Communications, Senator Fifield. Can the minister update the Senate on another successful year on the rollout of the National Broadband Network?

Opposition senators interjecting —

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

Order on my left!

Mitch Fifield (Victoria, Liberal Party, Manager of Government Business in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Smith for his question, and I'm glad those opposite share in our delight at the progress of the rollout of the NBN. As I think all colleagues in this place would appreciate, the NBN is becoming a reality, and can I on behalf of myself and my fellow shareholder minister, Senator Cormann, congratulate NBN on another strong year of performance.

The annual results announced yesterday show that the company has an achievable plan to complete the network by 2020. That's six to eight years sooner than would have been the case under those opposite, and at $30 billion less cost. The good news is that now one in every two Australian homes and businesses can access the NBN. At the end of the financial year, I can report that there were 5.7 million premises ready for service compared with the corporate plan target of 5.4 million premises. Similarly, activations were 440,000 premises ahead of target. There are now close to 2.7 million homes and businesses connected to the network, with around 40,000 premises signing up to NBN based plans each and every week. That's fast, affordable broadband to many, many premises around Australia.

The benefits of the NBN aren't just online. The project now has 24,000 workers designing, building and switching on services across the nation. There's more work underway at 1,850 discrete work sites, and around 200,000 additional premises are gaining access to the NBN each and every month. This is a big contrast to what we inherited from those opposite where only 51,000 people could access the network when they left office.

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

Senator Smith, a supplementary question.

Dean Smith (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Can the minister outline how the coalition's multitechnology mix has helped to increase rollout speed and keep internet broadband plans affordable for consumers?

Mitch Fifield (Victoria, Liberal Party, Manager of Government Business in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

) ( ): I can. The coalition's multitechnology mix puts aside the tech theologians. What it does is it puts the business experts in control. Goals that were set several years ago, including the goal of offering NBN connections to half of all Australians by 2017, have been achieved. In just the last 10 months, more premises have been hooked up to the NBN than in the entire six years of the project from the first connection in 2010-16. With capital costs much lower under the multitechnology mix and as the revenue streams climb—by the sheer weight of connected users—the NBN is well placed to continue to discount its prices as usage patterns change and households demand faster internet speeds that are now available. This is good news.

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

Senator Smith, a final supplementary question.

Dean Smith (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is the minister aware of any alternative approaches and what impact these might have on broadband affordability?

Mitch Fifield (Victoria, Liberal Party, Manager of Government Business in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

(—) (): Unfortunately, I am aware of alternative approaches. Those opposite do continue to advocate for an inflexible and unaffordable fibre-at-any-cost approach to the rollout. Under the Australian Labor Party's approach, Australians would not only have been left waiting an extra six to eight years for better broadband but also they would have been saddled with the most unaffordable broadband plans anywhere in the world. Under one scenario, Labor's all-fibre rollout would have driven up average internet bills by more than $500 a year. Affordability was never a consideration for the Labor Party in the rollout, whether it was the affordability of the rollout or the affordability of plans for end users. If Labor had continued in office, there is no doubt that this would have been another case of unaffordable bills— (Time expired)

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

I ask that further questions be placed on the Notice Paper.