Trish Crossin (NT, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

After that, you would think it was the comedy hour. I have a question for Senator Coonan, the Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts. I refer the minister to the collapse of Telstra’s discussions with the ACCC on the rollout of the fibre broadband infrastructure. Is the minister aware of the comments of Liberal MP Peter Lindsay, who stated this week that Telstra’s decision to abandon its fibre plans was a disaster? He stated:

As much as others argue that broadband can be provided without fibre-to-the-node, true broadband cannot be provided without it.

He went on to say:

Australians deserve top shelf broadband and that can only be delivered by fibre optic cable. Without it we will be held back.

As the minister responsible for this mess, has the minister informed Mr Lindsay that she has no plan to bring fibre broadband infrastructure to Australia? When will the minister stop making excuses and show some leadership on this important issue?