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

The Australian Greens welcome the introduction of the statutory infrastructure provider obligations set out in schedule 3 of the Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (Competition and Consumer) Bill 2018. The SIP obligations will ensure that Australians have access to high-speed broadband with minimum speed requirements of 25 megabits per second, and there are requirements for SIP services to support voice services on fixed-line and wireless platforms. These requirements are consistent with the Productivity Commission's review of the telecommunications universal service obligation.

We strongly support the rollout of the NBN to regional and rural Australia, and we acknowledge the need to cross-subsidise non-commercial services. However, we do not support the implementation of the Regional Broadband Scheme as proposed in schedule 4 of the competition and consumer bill and in the Telecommunications (Regional Broadband Scheme) Charge Bill 2018. As such, I would like the question on the second reading of the bills divided, as I intend to vote for the competition and consumer bill and against the Regional Broadband Scheme charge.

The Australian Greens are committed to ensuring that all Australians have access to affordable, high-quality internet services. Fast, reliable broadband has the potential to transform the lives of all the inhabitants of this nation. The NBN is not just a piece of infrastructure. Access to digital networks is a right, and it is incumbent upon government to make it accessible, available and affordable.

Australia's internet is lagging behind the rest of the world—this is the stark reality that must confront this government—in both speed and affordability. The Ookla speed test for May 2018, a global index, places Australia at 56th in the world for internet speed, falling behind Panama and Siberia, and well below the global average. Conversely, Australia is ranked eighth in the world for mobile broadband speeds, doubling the global average at 50 megabits per second, versus 30 megabits per second for fixed broadband.

Australia ranks 57th in the world for fixed broadband affordability, according to Digital Australia's State of the nation report. The Regional Broadband Scheme proposes a narrowly targeted, technology specific tax which is not robust to changing telecommunications technologies and markets and thus risks distorting competition between technology types. In response to my questioning during budget estimates, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission stated that it would likely have distortionary effects on the market. It also places excessive burden on a narrow segment of this same market. Australians are already struggling to pay for NBN's unaffordable, high prices, and this tax serves to slug them with another $7.10 per month. Both the ACCC and the Productivity Commission have stated that a preferable alternative would be direct budget funding. The Productivity Commission also recommended that the RBS and the funding of NBN non-commercial services should not be considered independently of the telecommunications universal service obligation.

The Regional telecommunications review 2015 recommended development of a new broad based consumer communication fund for voice and data services, thus replacing the USO's telecommunications industry levy with a levy to support loss-making regional infrastructure and services, with scope to include subsidies for non-commercial NBN services. Such an overarching regulatory structure would avoid piecemeal and short-term regulatory adjustments by putting a more relevant and comprehensive framework in place. Without a sunset clause, the RBS also risks becoming an entrenched tax that is used for purposes beyond the intentions of the scheme, with cost basis used for RBS pricing already having shifted considerably.

The Australian Greens support updating the telecommunications universal service obligation for the 21st century, based on telco needs of Australia now and into the future. We support Australians in rural, regional and remote areas having equitable access to internet and voice services, which is why we support families and businesses having enough data to meet their needs at a fair price, and using Sky Muster technology as a last resort only where no other options are possible. It is why we support extending the Mobile Black Spot Program, and the ACCC broadband monitoring program, to include fixed wireless and satellite services.

The Australian Greens support an NBN that is affordable for all Australians without compromising on quality, which is why we support a review of the NBN's pricing structures as well as an update to the Telecommunications Consumer Protections Code and the empowering of the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman. We do not support this short-sighted, narrow-based partial duplication of the USO that will further drive up already unaffordable prices for Australians. The government are, once again, trying to slap a bandaid on a gaping wound rather than fixing the underlying infrastructure servicing needs of all Australians and ensuring that everyone can access a fast, reliable and affordable National Broadband Network.