Helen Coonan (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts) Share this | Hansard source

waking up to the idea of 24-hour production chains using Australia’s broadband connections. Mr Tanner, this time, is the culprit. The Labor Party, of course, are putting up yet another plan, whereas this government has actually been doing the job of rolling out new and innovative broadband services since 2004. And, through funding provided by the Howard government, sectors like health, for example, as Senator Patterson knows, are already using broadband to provide 24/7 support for doctors. Radiographic images transferred using fast broadband connections are already viewed by radiologists both here and overseas. As an example, I recently visited a facility where an Australian company is using Australian qualified radiologists in Israel to support the north coast area health service, ensuring that, for instance, when a patient wakes up, the diagnosis is already waiting and treatment can start without delay.

Through programs including the government’s $113 million Clever Networks program, and the earlier Coordinated Communications Infrastructure Fund, we are already supporting projects which deliver world-class services to Australians, regardless of where they live. Back in 2005, for example, the government funded groundbreaking technology for BreastScreen Victoria, involving the use of a digital access network connected to mobile screening vans in rural and regional Victoria. This innovation has vastly improved services for women, and better utilises scarce radiologist resources by using digital images and broadband, with key funding from the Howard government.

But it is not just the health sector that is leading the world in the innovative use of broadband. The Howard government has also built a broadband postproduction network that links up Australia’s leading movie production houses and enables them to compete globally whilst the Northern Hemisphere sleeps. And recent Academy Award winners, such as Rising Sun Pictures and Animal Logic, are proof positive that Australia already has a night-shift digital economy.

So it is going to be very interesting to hear what Mr Tanner’s speech is all about tonight and how he will account for the fact that he appears to be in the Dark Ages when it comes to understanding the investment that the Howard government has made in fast broadband and clever solutions. So I say to the Australia public: don’t be fooled by Labor’s plans for tomorrow. Tomorrow is already too late. The Howard government is about real outcomes from new and innovative network solutions, not just vague plans and rhetoric. Our Clever Networks programs are real, they are rolling out, they are fully costed and they are already delivering concrete results to Australians. And this is really the important thing: this is just another example of the human dividends made possible by the Howard government’s strong economic management.