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

I thank Senator Furner for his ongoing interest in this area. Ubiquitous high-speed broadband, which will be delivered by the National Broadband Network will enable improvements in quality of care, access to services, real-time monitoring of health and illness, innovations in clinical care and health training, and targeted home-based care.

Those down there in the far corner of the chamber used to believe in that. They used to believe in wanting to deliver universal health care, particularly to people in rural and regional Australia. So it continues to be an embarrassment to many National Party members like Mayor Bruce Scott, who today was calling for his small community in Queensland—