Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for the Murray Darling Basin) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, my question is to the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Conroy. Mr President, I note the minister's admission yesterday—

Government Senators:

Government senators interjecting—

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

Order! Just wait a minute, Senator Birmingham.

Government senators interjecting—

Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for the Murray Darling Basin) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I have plenty of questions here.

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

Order! Senator Birmingham, I am waiting to give you the call and it does not assist when you are—

Honourable senators interjecting—

Order! Senator Birmingham, ignore the interjections, and those on my right cease interjecting. Senator Birmingham, you are entitled to be heard in silence.

Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for the Murray Darling Basin) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Mr President. Mr President, I note the minister's admission yesterday that the NBN has only 7,000 active fibre connections. This compares to iiNet's 10,000 fibre connections and Telstra's 40,000 Velocity fibre connections. Mr President, through you, I remind the minister that Labor in 2007 promised that their then version of the NBN would be finished by 2013. After 5½ years, with no chance of it being remotely finished next year, and more than $3½ billion dollars invested in NBN Co., can the minister please explain to the Senate when he expects NBN Co. to at least become Australia's second largest fibre provider?

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

I thank Senator Birmingham for maybe his fourth or fifth question—I have lost count, we have had such a rush in the last few days. Mr President, I am aware of the report. I am aware of the media reports that iiNet has more customers connected to fibre-optic cabling than NBN Co. I did see that. I am glad to see you are still reading about the portfolio, Senator Birmingham.

Increasing numbers of Australians on fibre to the premise technology is a very good thing. According to those opposite we were going to wipe out all the other fibre providers. Remember that debate: a long debate in the chamber that no-one else would be able to provide fibre to the home. But to paraphrase iiNet CEO Michael Malone, fibre to the premise is the best internet connection around. This is a fact that obviously escaped the tactics committee and Senator Birmingham in preparing the question: I note that of iiNet's 10,700 fibre customers, 25 per cent—or around 2,700—are connected through the NBN. That is actually there in the fact of those 10,000—2,700 are NBN customers.

In fact, I can now update the Senate. As I said yesterday, but was verballed in the question, there are 'more than 7,000'. Let me give you an update, and each time I get a chance to give you an update you will see it has gone up. There are 8,613 fibre customers on the NBN as of 23 November. This has now pushed us past 30,000 NBN customers all across Australia. (Time expired)

Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for the Murray Darling Basin) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. I note that the minister's update could change this slightly, but since the inception of the current version of the NBN in April 2009, will the minister confirm that the number of customers added to the fibre network each day is averaging somewhere around seven or eight per day? Will the minister confirm that to reach NBN Co.'s target for June 2013 of 54,000 active fibre customers it will have to go from seven or eight per day to an average of 270 new users per day? Will he unconditionally commit to the Senate that that will be achieved?

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

What I can say, as I have said a couple of times, is 758,000 under construction or completed by the end of December this year. The NBN will connect that. To achieve the target of the 50,000-odd I think Senator Birmingham was talking about, we will have to something NBN Co. demonstrated to Senator Birmingham in the last joint parliamentary committee, where he did not have the guts to ask these questions—he did not have the guts to ask NBN a relevant question; neither did Mr Turnbull. They sit there and they talk about absolute rubbish. Mr Quigley in his opening statement tabled some documents which are available for every single one of you. What they show is that we will hit our targets. Mr Turnbull said back in February, 'Oh, they'll never meet 758,000.' Well, we will see what Mr Turnbull and you have to say— (Time expired)

Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for the Murray Darling Basin) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question. Will the minister inform the Senate whether his office yesterday requested Hansard to correct his answers given in Senate question time from stating 'over 7,000 premises' had been connected to instead stating '8,200 premises' had been connected by fibre, but then subsequently this morning corrected that correction to once again return it to 'over 7,000' homes, now claiming more than 8,600? If the minister and his own office do not know how many there are, how can anybody else have any faith in his $50 billion— (Time expired)

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

Can I firstly say that I am unaware of any contact on this issue. My statement yesterday was completely accurate. I said over 7,000. What I said was that I would be able to give you an update on the figures. Today I have given you that update. It is 8,613. Both the over 7,000 yesterday was accurate and the 8,613 today is accurate. But that you shows you, Mr President, that those opposite have no broadband policy. We had 11½ years, 20 failed broadband plans. We have had seven different broadband plans under Senator Birmingham and Mr Turnbull. The latest invention is: 'We are not doing a wireless anymore.' Remember wireless was going to save the world? Mr Turnbull said recently on television, 'No, no, wireless can't do it. We are fibre-to-the-noding.' Labor's policy in 2007— (Time expired)