Mitch Fifield (Victoria, Liberal Party, Minister for Communications) Share this | Hansard source

It's because of the multitechnology mix that Australia is in the grip of a nationwide digital transformation. Earlier this month I released phase 2 of the Connecting Australia research report, which was conducted by data analytics and economics firm AlphaBeta. By the by, the individual who did the work is Dr Andrew Charlton, who I think is known to those opposite as a former economics adviser to Mr Rudd. The findings of the research report confirm that the government's NBN is opening the door to new business opportunities in regions connected to the NBN. The report reveals that access to the NBN is expected to contribute to the creation of up to 80,000 new businesses by 2021. The combined impact of growth in new businesses and jobs is predicted to boost the national economy by up to $10 billion, once the rollout is complete. This is good news.