Bridget McKenzie (Victoria, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Firstly, I want to commend our government for putting digital literacy, infrastructure and innovation at the centre of our government's policy, because we know in the 21st century that, to be successful, to overcome the challenges and to embrace all the opportunities of the 21st century, access to fast, reliable broadband and mobile services is essential. We need that digital infrastructure, particularly out in regional Australia. I am very proud of our Mobile Black Spot Program, developed by the shadow minister at the time, Luke Hartsuyker, and our decision as a government to prioritise those communities of need under the rollout of the NBN.

I am also particularly proud of our ministers outlining their response this week to the regional telecommunications review, where we are looking at the ongoing rollout gathering pace across the country, with regional Australians seeing benefits in the first half of this year; the launch of commercial services on the Sky Muster satellite; the ongoing rollout of high-speed NBN fixed wireless broadband services; and the ongoing rollout of the Mobile Black Spot Program, with almost 500 new or upgraded mobile base stations to be switched on over the next three years and a further $60 million committed to round 2 of the program in addition to the $100 million investment made under round 1. The announcement this week recognises the important role telecommunications play in the social and economic development of regional Australia.

I want to go to the coalition's rollout model, where every household and business in Australia will have access to download data rates of at least 25 megabits per second. That is faster than the maximum speed currently available on ADSL technology. The rollout plan aims to deliver speeds of up to 50 megabits per second to 90 per cent of fixed line premises as soon as possible. That is at least twice as fast as the ADSL maximum. Our plan provides flexibility for future upgrades and the further optimisation of the rollout as technology advances, because, as we all know, this is a very fast-moving space. So I think there have been some giant steps over the last two years in how telecommunications has been covered in my home state of Victoria. I know that, under the leadership of Senator Fifield and the new Minister for Regional Communications, Senator Nash, that will absolutely continue. But there are some areas that do need attention.

Tonight I particularly want to refer to those issues I am aware of in the Murrindindi Shire, in my home state of Victoria. The Murrindindi Shire is in the outer urban area of Melbourne. It was absolutely devastated by the Black Saturday fires. It knows the importance of essential infrastructure in the digital sphere, not only for emergency services provision and communications but to take advantage of all the economic opportunities. It has a strong population of commuters, so to have access to that digital infrastructure will increase economic opportunities within the shire. That access will also improve opportunities for the provision of educational services to children in the shire. Yes, every kid goes along to school and, when they study and are given their homework, particularly if they are in senior secondary school, they have to access the internet to download reports and sometimes submit their homework and options papers. So having access to fast, reliable broadband is essential for educational opportunities.

The Nationals candidate for Indi, Mr Marty Corboy, has told me that he travelled through the seat of Indi this week and met with constituents. He was very concerned as he spoke to locals, whether they were business owners, parents or emergency services providers, about the importance of getting this digital infrastructure on the ground in that area. I really want to commend him for his strong advocacy. In particular he mentioned the case of Mark in the town of Yea in the southern part of the electorate. Marty tells me that Mark is a small business owner in that community but also a father of small children who use the internet for their homework. He is currently paying $160 a month for 25 gigs, which is not enough his family to run their business and provide educational opportunities for the children. I am told the current Telstra exchange is not designed for today's internet and needs urgent upgrading to be able to handle the faster and more efficient services that are being delivered.

What we all wish could happen is that we could click our fingers and have NBN exist for every family and every business that needs it across the country, but that is actually not reality.

Senator O'Neill interjecting—

While officially the NBN rollout started in 2009, it languished for more than four years under Labor. So, Senator O'Neill, please let's not go there, because I am not going to promote the fact that under you guys it went nowhere and we focused on families of need. I want to raise the fact that before the NBN rollout can be complete, there is a lag in some communities, and it is the responsibility of the owners of the infrastructure—Telstra—to ensure that, until the NBN arrives at a family home or business, that essential infrastructure is maintained. I urge Telstra and the other telecommunications providers to look at this issue and at their service provision throughout the Murrindindi Shire to ensure that families like Mark's can get the education services they need.

I thank Marty Corboy for his advocacy in this area and look forward to hopefully seeing him elected. I know that already as a candidate he has been such a strong advocate for his local community and I am sure he would make a strong and welcome contribution to a re-elected Turnbull government.

Deborah O'Neill (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am so glad to have the opportunity to speak now in response to the nonsense we have just heard put out by a representative of an area that needs much better advocacy. What we are seeing across this country, where the dodgy NBN is being rolled out, is Australians being saddled with a lemon. I speak particularly of the range of inquiries that the candidates for Robertson and Charlton, and the candidate for Dobell, Emma McBride, have been receiving in the past couple of weeks from people across the Central Coast who are sick to death of being ignored by nbn co and are sick to death of the failing service that is being delivered to them that this government wants to call super-fast broadband. What a joke!

There is no NBN rolling out. It is an 'MTM'—it is Malcolm Turnbull's mess—and it is an absolute disgrace. We are hearing reports from right across the Central Coast of people who are simply not being given any support in any appropriate way. The fibre-to-the-node network that this government has inflicted on most of the Central Coast relies on the copper-wire system from a node somewhere near your house. We are hearing that with this 'MTM', which is actually taking twice as long to deliver than promised by the government, for twice the price—now blown out from $29 billion to $58 billion—they are actually funding the delivery of a disgraceful level of service. The reports that I am getting are that there is more than a 14 per cent failure rate on the lines into those homes.

I will put on the record the evidence we have received in my office from Mr Barry Egan. He has been involved with the ombudsman to mediate the issues he has had with nbn co for the connection to his home. They just cut off his landline. This is the government's great plan in action. They simply cut off his landline and left him without any connection. Now, after weeks, they have finally responded but he has all this static on the line. No-one will take responsibility, certainly not nbn co and not Telstra, either. From Senator McKenzie we had the platitudinous, 'I want Telstra to take responsibility for upgrading the ports so that people can get a fair service and the kids can do their homework.' It is a joke. Telstra is not doing anything of the sort. The kids she is talking about who need to do their homework are right across this country, and on the Central Coast, with the lemon of an 'MTM' that this government has delivered. When the kids get home and start to do their homework what is happening is that the speed drops off and they cannot get anything like 100 down and 25 up, which is what they were promised. They cannot even get 25 down. They are getting two or three down. It is slower than their old ADSL lines. Right across the coast, the traffic that is happening when kids get home from school and on weekends, as more and more people are using the internet and using things like Netflix to download the things they want to see, is proving that this is a very dangerous and failing experiment in the real world that is costing businesses, students and people right across the Central Coast, including the elderly who require a solid and safe line for their health needs. The member for Robertson, Ms Wicks, and the member for Dobell continue to sell the lie to the community that they are actually delivering something that might approximate a super-fast broadband. That is not the case.

I will put on the record the case of Mary Smith, who is absolutely livid with her treatment by nbn co. There were five visits. She stayed at home all morning and no-one arrived—Telstra is coming, nbn co is coming. No-one called her, and she said that everyone in her street is experiencing the same sort of chaos, which, frankly, is synonymous with this government. We have seen the chaos of one minister contradicting the other. It is a government that is absolutely divided and they cannot possibly deliver anything that approximates a modern and proper super-fast broadband. They have saddled an entire community with a lemon. It is a disgrace.

Michelle Loaney phoned my office, furious with nbn co—pushed back, pushed back and pushed back on five different dates, waiting for two years to be connected. And she is one of the ones who actually got a date out of the local member. It was supposed to be February—I think that is the line that was being trotted out before Christmas. February has just about gone and now we have heard that it is going to be May—maybe. They are not delivering on time and they are certainly not delivering a high-quality service.

But the one that actually takes the cake is a Mr Bruce Manton, who is doing a development in Point Clare. He is a businessman—the group of people that the Liberal Party say they stand up for. I do not believe that for a moment. They might stand up for the top end of town, but ordinary working people on the Central Coast—tradies and hard-working ordinary small to medium enterprises—cannot rely on this government. Mr Manton is a great example of the failure of this government with the NBN. Mr Manton is doing a development in one of the suburbs at Point Clare on the Central Coast. He put in his plans to the council. It is nbn co's responsibility to check to ensure that when they are rolling out and doing the job they do not basically stuff-up developments like the one that Mr Manton is undertaking. What they have done is actually put the node right in the middle of the driveway that enters into that small subdivision development that he is doing. They say that it is not their fault and that it is the council's fault. The council say that it is not their fault and that it is nbn co's fault. That leaves Mr Manton with a bill of $21,000 to fix up a mistake by nbn co that was enabled by and sanctioned by this government and is continuing with the support of this government, despite the disgraceful experiences of hundreds of thousands of people across the Central Coast. They have inflicted a lemon on the economy of the Central Coast, instead of the real NBN.

And we have a good comparison, because right in the middle of Gosford, where we do have the real NBN, we have jobs growth. NIB has chosen to develop their business, not in Newcastle, because they knew that they were going to get a lemon up there. They have come to the heart of Gosford, where Labor delivered the real NBN—NBN to the premises, whether it is a business or a home. We have award-winning businesses like BlinkMobile, with international awards. They are a multinational business operating out of a wonderful spot right in the heart of Gosford. Just down the road, NIB has created 130 new jobs for local people—genuine new jobs, not transfers but real new jobs—because the NBN, the real NBN delivered by Labor, is in the middle of Gosford. So we have a perfect comparison. Where the real one has gone in, jobs are growing, businesses are thriving and it is good for our community. Where this absolutely failing government has inflicted on our community a failing and ancient service that belongs in the last century, we are seeing businesses that failed to thrive and people who are getting ripped off. (Time expired)