Senate debates

Tuesday, 18 June 2013

Questions without Notice

National Broadband Network

2:39 pm

Photo of Sue BoyceSue Boyce (Queensland, Liberal Party) Share this | | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Conroy. I refer the minister to the government's commitment that NBN's fixed-wireless network would serve 700,000 Australians in outer-suburban and regional areas and be finished in 2015. Is it correct that the network has still only reached 17,000 premises? If that is not correct, would the minister inform the Senate just how close to this 700,000 target the wireless rollout is?

Photo of Stephen ConroyStephen Conroy (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy) Share this | | Hansard source

Thank you for the opportunity, Senator Boyce, and congratulations for asking a question on the day that the fixed wireless network has switched on its 25Mbps down and 5Mbps up product—a day when the people who have got access to this now have better speeds than anybody living in a metropolitan city, Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane, if they are using the copper.

Photo of George BrandisGeorge Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Attorney-General) Share this | | Hansard source

Mr President, I rise on a point of order on direct relevance. There were two questions. Firstly, the minister was asked whether it was correct that the network has only reached 17,000 premises. Secondly he was asked, if not, would he inform the Senate how close to the 700,000 target the rollout is. They were the only two questions. Each asked for a figure. What he is saying is not directly relevant or even vaguely relevant to either of those two questions.

Photo of John HoggJohn Hogg (President) Share this | | Hansard source

The minister has been going for 28 seconds, but the minister needs to address the question.

Photo of Stephen ConroyStephen Conroy (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy) Share this | | Hansard source

Thank you, Mr President. Unlike Senator Birmingham, the good senator was not at Senate estimates when this very issue was discussed at considerable length. The answer that was given to Senator Birmingham was that it was not going to be possible to be exact, because the number of towers that were being connected was still not fixed as at 30 June and there would not be an accurate answer to that question until after 30 June. As to Senator Boyce's overarching question about when it will be finished, it is still scheduled to be finished in 2015. There are annual targets—

Photo of George BrandisGeorge Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Attorney-General) Share this | | Hansard source

How close are you, Stephen?

Photo of Stephen ConroyStephen Conroy (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy) Share this | | Hansard source

I cannot help it if you do not understand what a ramp-up is, Senator Brandis—but you are the living expert; you are the treasure of the chamber!

Photo of John HoggJohn Hogg (President) Share this | | Hansard source

Senator Conroy, ignore the interjections. They are disorderly.

Photo of Stephen ConroyStephen Conroy (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy) Share this | | Hansard source

I do apologise for being distracted by Senator Brandis. The overall build is still on target for completion in 2015. There is no change to that. Getting some towers erected, due to legitimate community concerns, has taken longer than would have been hoped. Some have been appealed to the relevant authorities in different states and some have had extra negotiations but have then resourced different communities. It is slowly but surely working its way through all of those legitimate legal processes. (Time expired)

2:42 pm

Photo of Sue BoyceSue Boyce (Queensland, Liberal Party) Share this | | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. Given that the minister is using the end of the financial year as an excuse not to answer the first question, could he please confirm or deny that, after paying $120 million for spectrum licenses in 2011, the wireless rollout has now stalled because NBN Co. has discovered that its planned network interferes with an existing Optus wireless network using the same frequencies?

2:43 pm

Photo of Stephen ConroyStephen Conroy (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy) Share this | | Hansard source

It may come as a surprise to you but Optus's ownership and holdings of that spectrum were not a national security issue. They were well known to NBN Co. and well known to the government. At boundaries there are always issues between different networks. That is just the laws of physics. But, as to a suggestion that the rollout has stalled because of such an issue, the answer is a categorical no—absolutely wrong. The rollout is not stalled, firstly, and it is not stalled because of an interference issue at the edges of the two networks.

Photo of Simon BirminghamSimon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for the Murray Darling Basin) Share this | | Hansard source

Are you too embarrassed, Stephen? You won't tell us because you can't tell us.

Photo of John HoggJohn Hogg (President) Share this | | Hansard source

Order! When there is silence on my left, we will proceed. You get the time to debate this issue at three o'clock. Senator Conroy.

Honourable senators interjecting

Order! Interjecting is disorderly. The time to debate the issue is after three o'clock. Order, on both sides! I call the minister.

Photo of Stephen ConroyStephen Conroy (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy) Share this | | Hansard source

It may come as a surprise that the laws of physics apply in this instance, but it is not a surprise to those at NBN Co. that those frequencies are the same. Optus purchase unwired frequency. I utterly reject— (Time expired)

2:45 pm

Photo of Sue BoyceSue Boyce (Queensland, Liberal Party) Share this | | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question. I will have another go. I refer the minister to the NBN slashing of its brownfields fibre targets earlier this year. That followed months of questioning, in this place and elsewhere, about the lack of progress in building Labor's NBN. In light of the debacle and with the benefit of hindsight, can the minister please now rule out needing to downgrade the rollout targets for the fixed wireless network or tell us the facts—which is that it does need downgrading?

2:46 pm

Photo of Stephen ConroyStephen Conroy (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy) Share this | | Hansard source

The seven per cent of Australian premises that will not be receiving fibre-to-the-home have always been going to be served by either satellite or fixed wireless. There is some overlay between the two: in some areas where towers are built, there may not be a line of sight to some houses. There is not an absolute black and white line in that seven per cent. It is about three per cent-four per cent or four per cent-three per cent. I have said this many, many times. But the seven per cent—unless those opposite, who are vandals, decide to overturn this at some future point, if they were to be surprisingly elected to this country's government—is the seven per cent. There is no suggestion. In fact, we increased it after the McKinsey report from 90 to 93 per cent, reducing— (Time expired)