Peter Whish-Wilson (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

Yes, exactly. Why not do it properly now? Senator Fifield talked about taxpayers' funds. He would understand that this type of infrastructure is securitised against future cash flows and rents that you are going to get from the broadband network. If I am a consumer or a business, I am going to have to pay to access the network when it is rolled out. If my gumption is right about how quickly technology is moving—and let us not forget that it is very likely that wireless will be turning on your toaster and changing the temperature of your fridge—wireless is going to be used for all sorts of things in our households in the future, and we are going to need the bandwidth. So, if this is taxpayer funds, I am pretty confident that we are going to get a good return on our investment in the future.

If governments have any role to play, even the Liberals must understand that they have a role to play in providing essential infrastructure. In this case, I have no doubt at all that they are going to get a good return on their investments. We have also seen a lot of chief economists around the country saying that now is the time to do this. While interest rates are so low in this country and globally, now is the time to lock in 20/30-year bonds against infrastructure, and that is exactly what would suit this type of project.

This really is not just about consumers. The big issue with fibre to the node and then copper to the home is upload speeds, not download speeds. Quite frankly, I could not give a damn about how quickly my kids download their home movies. I am more interested in the advantages to business. While I am very excited about the prospect of broadband in Tasmania, I am disappointed that, as a state who has had first-mover advantage in this area, we have capitalised enough on it. We have not developed a business around how we are going to use the broadband, but it is coming.

I looked at a submission to the recent NBN inquiry from an ICT company in Singapore who said that when the Singapore government outlaid their infrastructure—fibre-optic cable—they set a whole series of KPIs that the government needed to achieve, including, for example, doubling their ICT exports and doubling their employment in the IT industry. This is exactly what Tasmania is now embarking on. It is no secret that we are an island on the bottom of the world. It might not be the arse end of the world, but you can see it from there with a good telescope! We need to do things that we have a competitive advantage in. We need to be able to facilitate and enable people to work from home and from businesses where they can be as competitive as anyone else the world.

We have some of the best creative industries in this country. In Hobart, we have two big proposals underway, including the creative industry hubs under construction. One of them is a joint-venture between MONA—which has been a stunning international success and a hugely important contributor to the Tasmanian economy—Theatre Royal and the University of Tasmania. We have another private hub being developed around digital media and content creation and delivery, which requires broadband. These are the types of jobs that our kids in Tassie want to stay for if you go ask them, 'What sort of jobs would you want to come back to Tassie for?' These are the areas that kids are interested in: high-tech information communications technology.

The University of Tasmania is another example. We have no doubt that in the next 10 to 20 years a lot of universities are going to be virtual. You will do your courses online. We already do much of our content delivery online. I have taught online courses and I know how difficult it is for students. With broadband it is suddenly so much easier for me to do live streaming of lectures and content into places like Shanghai, Indonesia and the Philippines. The University of Tasmania in my state already has a competitive advantage in delivering online courses. This sort of thing would be a huge boom. The University of Tasmania is already the second biggest employer in my state. This is the type of infrastructure that we need to get another leg up and to drive the future innovation that will create employment in Tasmania, retain our youth and make them want to come back.

If we do not get the full rollout to the home, the Tasmanian Greens have said that they will put together a business unit to help finance this at a state level. I was in the Senate inquiry when rolling out fibre-optic cable on overhead lines was talked about. I am yet to make a decision as to whether I think that is the right way to go. Disruptions are certainly going to be a serious issue. There were 70 power poles down in the last storm in Tasmania. That would cause a disruption to the network. Nevertheless, we are happy to consider it if it is going to deliver some effectiveness. But it is an election stunt for Will Hodgman to say that he is going to deliver broadband to the home, not from the node, by rolling it out under a trial. It has already been trialled. Aurora Energy has already trialled overhead network technology with fibre-optic cable. It is already there if you want to use it. If you have the conviction, then come out and say it. To not go for some half-cocked plan about a trial.

I would like to take the opportunity tonight to say that I have also been very focused on this area around broadband in Launceston, the little town that I come from, where my office is and where my family live. Last year, I and the Greens delivered $3 million to build a technology innovation hub in the centre of Launceston. It is called Macquarie House. It is a beautiful old four-storey building that has not been used for 67 years. It is right in the centre of town. We asked the youth what they wanted, and this hub was the answer we got.

I went and visited Brisbane, where they have The Edge, and Sydney, where they have ICE, which are very similar innovative digital hubs used by the community, and they are renting space to businesses. We are setting up a collaborative working space in the centre of town that is going to be cash flow neutral because you have to pay to use it. We are but also hoping that it is going to create energy, which Launceston desperately needs, energy for youth and creativity and be a people space where people will want to go. It already has broadband going past the premise. I can say hand on my heart it is absolutely critical that, if we are going to make business decisions around the use of this infrastructure, these are the types of projects that we as government need to start getting involved with. There is a role for us to play in providing infrastructure for collaboration and in the collaborative economy.

I would say very clearly here tonight, and I know that if Senator Ludlam were here he would also say, 'Let's do it properly. Let's get it done up-front. Yes, it costs money.' It is a massive project, and enormous projects always have hiccups. Why is it that we cannot accept that that is the reality? Because, there is politics involved.

Tonight I say: let us put the politics aside. I would urge the Liberal Party, in Tasmania and federally—as I would certainly urge Labor—to focus on putting the politics aside and getting this done properly so that my state can trade on its competitive advantages, on its creative economy and on the innovation that we are seeing in our youth. We know that we can do things as well as anywhere in the world from Tasmania—from my home, from my university and from my business.

It is already a growing sector for my state. I am very excited about the prospects and I wanted to share that optimism with the Senate tonight.