Michael Ronaldson (Victoria, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is also addressed to the Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, Senator Coonan. Will the minister inform the Senate on options for establishing a broadband fibre network throughout Australia?

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

I am delighted that Senator Ronaldson is paying such close attention to proposals for broadband fibre networks throughout Australia, especially a fibre network to provide high-speed broadband throughout Australia. There are currently three proposals to establish a high-speed broadband network in Australia: two proposed by the private sector—Telstra and the G9 group of telecommunications companies—and a third proposed by the Australian Labor Party.

As we know, Telstra have been examining options for a rollout of fibre optic cable to provide broadband internet throughout the metropolitan and outer metropolitan areas of Australia. Telstra’s sticking point is that they want to ensure a commercial return on their investment—and I agree with them, because such an investment does merit a commercial rate of return. The G9 is a consortium of leading telcos, including Optus, AAPT, Macquarie Telecom, Soul, Primus Telecom and others. The G9’s fibre proposal has progressed to a stage where they are close to formally submitting it to the ACCC to agree terms of access. Both of these proposals would see a multibillion-dollar investment by the private sector for a rollout to the capital cities initially, followed by major regional centres.

The third proposal is that of the Labor Party to smash and grab almost $3 billion from the Future Fund, to abolish the coalition’s $2 billion regional communications fund for the bush and to scrap the government’s $600 million investment in wireless internet infrastructure in rural and regional areas and then to construct a one-size-fits-all fibre rollout for 98 per cent of the population for $8 billion, which is financially impossible and economically irresponsible. The question has to be: why is the Labor Party so hell-bent on a wasteful and reckless handout of billions of dollars of taxpayers’ money when there are two viable, achievable private sector options on the table for commercial areas which would effectively provide the same coverage with no taxpayer expense?

While this side of the Senate is strongly committed to the rollout of true broadband across the nation, our approach is that, if private investment can do it in commercial areas, then it should do it and the burden should not be on the taxpayers’ backs. People should not be fooled into believing that Labor’s $4.7 billion raid on the Future Fund and dudding the regional communications fund are going to result in some enormous money flow. It will run at a loss like every other Labor investment does. If Labor think they are going to get such a solid commercial return on a $4 billion spend, why hasn’t the industry proposed to do it? It is a question the Labor Party have to answer. The answer is that it is not commercial to go out to 98 per cent with fibre, nor is it possible for $8 billion.

The Labor Party cannot walk both sides of the fence on this. Either it is a commercial proposition with a revenue stream or it is a case of market failure. It cannot be both. Worse still is that it will be a commercial enterprise run by a Labor government. Let us not beat around the bush here: everyone knows that Labor governments are no good at running commercial enterprises. The government is committed to providing high-speed broadband across the country, targeted investment to reach 100 per cent of the population and a new infrastructure build in rural and regional Australia. Labor on the other hand has a proposal whereby it has abandoned its principles on Telstra, it has ditched its support for competition, it has raided the Future Fund and it has reverted to what it knows best: voodoo economics. (Time expired)

Michael Ronaldson (Victoria, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. Would the minister further explain why the government will not be adopting alternative policies to the ones she has outlined?

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

Thank you, Senator Ronaldson, for the supplementary question. I was just pointing out to the Senate that it is important that we do not beat about the bush here and that we actually look at what the Labor Party did when in state government. I just want to go through the abysmal record of state Labor governments running commercial enterprises. With the State Bank of Victoria and the Tricontinental group, how much did Labor lose the taxpayer? About $3 billion. Then there was the State Bank of South Australia, which lost $3.3 billion and cost taxpayers about $2.2 billion.

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

Oh, my goodness!

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

Senator Conroy does not care about costing taxpayers $2.2 billion. And who can forget the Pyramid group, which the Cain Labor government assured the Victorian public was a sound investment about two weeks before it collapsed.

Mr President, we know that the Labor Party cannot manage the economy. They have shown with this proposal that they do not have a clue and they are only good at voodoo economics.

Annette Hurley (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to Senator Coonan, the Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts. I refer the minister to her comments on ABC TV yesterday that Australia’s broadband infrastructure is ‘okay at the moment but it won’t be in the future’. Does the minister believe that it is okay at the moment that Australia’s use of broadband ranks just 17th out of 30 surveyed countries in the OECD? Does the minister believe that it is okay that currently more than 100,000 Australians have their applications for broadband rejected every year? Does the minister believe that it is okay that nine per cent of the businesses in Victoria are not able to access broadband? Minister, is your government so arrogant and out of touch that you do not recognise that Australia’s broadband is not okay?

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

I am delighted to answer these questions so that I can correct the Labor Party’s abysmal ignorance of international comparisons. Despite claims to the contrary, there is a growing body of data which supports Australia’s position as an information economy leader. Australia’s growth in broadband take-up per 100 people grew faster than any other OECD country except Denmark in the six months to June 2006. In addition, the Economist Intelligence Unit’s 2006 e-readiness rankings placed Australia eighth out of 68 countries, up from 10th place in 2005 and 12th in 2004. Perhaps more importantly, in the same survey—this is very important—Australia was ranked first in the Asia-Pacific region. The rapid growth in broadband adoption as a result of the ongoing reform of the telecommunications market—

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

Senator Conroy interjecting—

Glenn Sterle (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Sterle interjecting—

Paul Calvert (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! Senator Conroy and Senator Sterle, come to order. In the first 10 minutes of question time today, Senator Conroy, you interjected more than 30 times. If you continue to interject during question time, I will name you.

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

I know that this does not fit with the Labor Party’s script, but nevertheless they are verifiable figures and it is very important that the Labor Party stops misleading people about international rankings. The rapid growth in broadband adoption as a result of the ongoing reform of the telecommunications market, because it would not be possible unless there was broadband, was cited in 2005 as a key factor in Australia’s improved performance. These are verifiable figures.

The OECD figures are pretty old by now. The data that went into the OECD broadband league were taken in 2004-05. The thing that the Labor Party cannot get its head around is that Australia is above the OECD average. The fact is that Germany is 18th, France is 16th, the UK is 10th and the richest country in the world, which could presumably roll fibre from one end to the other three or four times, is actually ranked 12th.

The OECD comparison only considered speeds available from the major telco in each country. In this case it was Telstra, so it was not industry wide; and it certainly did not reflect the state of the industry. At the time of the report, Telstra’s maximum ADSL broadband speed was just 1.5 megabits per second, and the OECD ranked Australia only on that fact. It certainly does not reflect the current position. It does not take into account Telstra’s decision on 10 November 2006 to remove restrictions on its speeds, which overnight meant that 91 per cent of the population could get up to eight megabits and 50 per cent of the population could get well and truly over eight megabits, more like 12 to 20, which makes Labor’s aim obsolete before it even starts. It also does not recognise, as I have said, that nearly 50 per cent of the population can access higher speeds, up to 20 megabits, from ADSL2+ and pay-TV cable networks that pass almost three million households.

The Labor Party can selectively pull out OECD figures that are not up to date, are not accurate and certainly do not reflect the position in this country. They will try and do that, but it is important that the true facts are recorded, which I have now placed on the record.

Annette Hurley (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. Isn’t it a fact that the only way broadband will be okay in the future is for us to invest in critical communications infrastructure now? Minister, aren’t media commentators right when they say your government has failed to deliver this necessary infrastructure?

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

The only thing I agree with in the proposition that was put in that supplementary question is that always with telecommunications we need the ability to scale up. And, whilst I have said and indicated that the current state of these broadband take-ups is obviously satisfactory, it will not be as the appetite for broadband grows. And so you need to invest for the future, which this government is doing, ensuring that in underserved commercial areas, where people would otherwise not be able to get metro-comparable services, they will be able to under this government. We are doing so with an infrastructure rollout—a big infrastructure build—that will be invested in such a way that 100 per cent of the population will be able to get broadband, not just 98 per cent in about five to 12 years time.