Peter McGauran (Gippsland, National Party, Deputy Leader of the House) Share this | Hansard source

My colleagues and I relish every opportunity to discuss, debate and contrast broadband policy: the government’s policy, as announced yesterday, Australia Connected, compared to the opposition’s two-page policy rendered only three or four weeks ago. I am the first to admit that the Labor Party had a degree of political momentum with its broadband policy proposal some weeks ago, but that was because anybody can put together a policy in a very scant form, lacking detail and proper costings, and without any technical feasibility. To an extent the media of this country swallowed it hook, line and sinker, whereas we had to bide our time because we were going to present a policy that would withstand any examination, total scrutiny and complete technical assessment, and we have done that. We now have Australia Connected, which ticks all the boxes, unlike the Labor Party’s policy, which is a two-pager and which has been decried by financial institutions, commentators and participants in the world of telecommunications.

It always bemuses members of the government when the Labor Party attempts to engage us on any regional and rural issue, whether it be regional and rural education, health or transport, given that the Labor Party does not have a policy on anything outside the capital cities. But I will leave that to one side for a debate on another day and concentrate on rural, regional and remote telecommunications policy. Well, the Labor Party had its chance—it had its chance over 13 years, especially—but, more particularly, those of us who have been here a bit longer than others will recall that in 1995 the Labor Party, in government, shut down the analog mobile phone network—

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