Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Minister for Communications) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for her question. The biggest barrier to internet access in Australia is not technology but lack of income. It has been always thus. The Australian Bureau of Statistics only last week confirmed that households in the poorest income quintile, the lowest income quintile, were more than 10 times less likely to have access to the internet at home than those in the wealthiest quintile—that is to say, of the lowest income bracket, 41 per cent had no access to the internet; of the wealthiest, four per cent—so affordability is obviously absolutely vital. But what was the inevitable object of Labor's approach to broadband? Making internet access less affordable than ever.

Mr Champion interjecting—

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