Jordon Steele-John (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I, and also on behalf of Senator Urquhart, move:

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

  (i) on 16 May 2011, a United Nations Special Rapporteur report declared that Internet access is a human right and recommended that "each State should thus develop a concrete and effective policy, in consultation with individuals from all sections of society, including the private sector and relevant Government ministries, to make the Internet widely available, accessible and affordable to all segments of population",

  (ii) on 27 September 2017, the Joint Standing Committee on the National Broadband Network released its first report with 23 recommendations, based on 191 submissions, 15 public hearings, and testimony from 179 witnesses, and

  (iii) on 16 January 2018, the Government released its response to the report of the Joint Standing Committee on the National Broadband Network, in which it rejected 9 of the recommendations and supported the remaining 14 recommendations in principle only; and

(b) calls on the Government to:

  (i) reconsider its response to the first report of the Joint Standing Committee on the National Broadband Network, which proposes concrete and effective policy, developed in consultation with individuals from all sections of society, including the private sector and relevant Government ministries, and

  (ii) work towards developing a national broadband network that is fast, reliable and future-proof, which will make the Internet widely available, accessible and affordable to all segments of the population in Australia.