Karen McNamara (Dobell, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Communications. Will the minister inform the House how putting the budget—

Honourable Members:

Honourable members interjecting—

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I cannot hear the question. There will be silence.

Karen McNamara (Dobell, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I will start again, Madam Speaker. My question is to the Minister for Communications. Will the minister inform the House how putting the budget on a sustainable footing allows us to invest in areas like preparation for the fibre network in Dobell?

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

I thank the honourable member for her question. I must say that I appreciate getting some questions on the NBN, because I never get them from the opposition. In fact, the only question the shadow minister for communications ever asked me was about a boat. In fact, they have asked the minister for immigration and me the same number of questions on boats—only one each, as far as I am aware.

But the position is that, by taking on the fiscal realities of our nation, of not deluding ourselves, of recognising that we cannot keep on spending and spending and running up debt, this government is getting down to the business of repairing the budget and, as part of that, repairing the NBN. I can inform the House that, with the stabilisation of the rollout, with the new management, we are now in a position to provide more information and more certainty for people living in roll-out areas. Today, NBN Co is releasing information on around 70 new sites, covering 167,000 premises, where build preparation for the fibre rollout has begun. That means that people will soon see workers out in the street, clearing Telstra's ducts and pits ahead of the physical network being installed. In Dobell, around 7,200 premises are a step closer to getting access to the National Broadband Network, with build preparation work now underway in Bateau Bay, 4,800 premises, and in Long Jetty, Toowoon Bay and Blue Bay, about 2,400 premises.

I can inform the honourable member that in her seat of Dobell the NBN has already passed 13,200 premises in brownfields or built-up areas. Just across the road from the honourable member's seat in the seat of Robertson we have fibre-to-the-node pilots underway in Umina, we already have 11 nodes in Umina and, as the NBN noted in a recent estimates hearing, we have signed an agreement to facilitate the access to the spare Telstra copper pairs there, meaning end-users can be signed up to services on a trial basis.

Michelle Rowland (Greenway, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Communications) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

You are behind schedule.

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Greenway will desist.

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

We took the misleading information Labor had about the rollout off the maps because what Labor was doing was that Senator Conroy was putting green splotches everywhere, misleading people as to what was happening, giving people the impression that the NBN was about to come. It was a hopelessly disappointing exercise. So what we are now doing is putting reliable, accurate information about the project that people can trust on the NBN Co's maps. I have referred honourable members to it and I can say once again that we are committed to complete the rollout sooner, cheaper and more affordably, to the great benefit of all Australians and the repair of the budget.