Stephen Conroy (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

I am prepared to listen to the Mayor of Barcoo Shire, Mr Bruce Scott, who says, ‘We want fibre to these small communities.’ His communities are begging, crying out and campaigning to ensure that they get fibre—and this is a National Party council. They are demanding that they get fibre. They do not want the opposition’s mickey mouse wireless network. I repeat for those who want to listen that in just the four areas of health care, education, transport and electricity there will be a 0.5 per cent to 1.5 per cent improvement in GDP from building the National Broadband Network. So in all of those areas that the mayor you referred to is expressing concerns there is concrete support from the OECD which says that building the National Broadband Network will benefit health, will benefit education, will benefit electricity and will benefit transport. (Time expired)