Mr CREAN (3:39 PM) —On indulgence, Mr Speaker, before I commence could I join with others in congratulating the Clerk of the House, Ian Harris, on what is a well-deserved honour. He has been a wonderful servant of this place, and I have had the opportunity over the 17 years that I have been in it to avail myself of his assistance. So, well done, Ian, and congratulations.

Today we got another reminder of how abysmally this government has failed the nation in terms of Broadband Connect—the front of the Sydney Morning Herald: ‘Australia left for dead, says net guru’. It is another wake-up call about the need to deliver real broadband to all Australians regardless of where they live, not just those in the capital cities, as you would well appreciate, Mr Deputy Speaker Adams. It is another indication of the government’s policy failure, another example of the squandered opportunity to invest in this nation’s prosperity—a government awash with money in what is arguably one of the longest resources booms in our history and it still cannot connect the whole of the nation in terms of vital access to this infrastructure.

In the Sydney Morning Herald article, Professor Larry Smarr, the Director of the California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology, says that Australia’s internet infrastructure has not kept up with international standards and that, if this is allowed to continue, we will be ‘left out’ of existing and emerging business opportunities. It does not matter what grading of Australia against international standards you look at, in terms of broadband Australia is well down the list, with slow connections across all parts of Australia, even in centres within major cities, restricting businesses—restricting not only economic connectivity but social connectivity as well.

This is a problem that, as bad as it is for the nation, is even worse when it comes to regional communities. Hundreds of thousands of people in businesses in those areas are still waiting to be connected—to step over the digital divide and join the 21st century. The benefit of connecting our regions is monumental for this nation. High-speed broadband is the great enabler for this country, enabling in terms of infrastructure not only for economy purposes but also for social and community purposes. It is what will connect this nation to the information superhighway. Put simply, those regions that have access to fast-speed broadband over the internet are the ones that go ahead; those that do not have it fall behind.

We did not need the good professor today to tell us of this problem because indeed last year the Australian Local Government Association presented its latest State of the regions report, which showed the cost to this nation of failing to connect our regions. In 2006 alone, just one year, the cost of that failure to this country was $2.7 billion in forgone gross domestic product and almost 30,000 regional jobs. Regions such as Wide Bay stand to benefit from an estimated $78 million in additional revenue and 1,000 jobs. Another example is the Mackay region—over $100 million and 1,000 jobs. Gippsland in my home state of Victoria is missing out to the tune of $170 million and 1,500 jobs. In fact, I have a table which I am prepared to present to the House which indicates the costs, broken down, throughout the whole of the country, and I seek leave to table that, Mr Deputy Speaker.

Mr McGauran —No. I haven’t seen it. I don’t know—

Mr CREAN —You haven’t seen it? This is a person who represents the National Party. He is the Deputy Leader of the National Party and he has not seen—

Mr McGauran —It’s your document. It’s your document.

Mr CREAN —It is not our document; it belongs to the Australian Local Government Association.

Mr McGauran —Show it to me. Bring it around and show it to me. No, you’re not throwing it. Bring it around and show it to me.

Opposition members interjecting—

Mr CREAN —You said you wanted to see it. I can’t bring it around to show it to you.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER (Hon. DGH Adams)—Order! The honourable member for Hotham has the call.

Mr CREAN —I think the contempt that the Deputy Leader of the National Party is showing his constituency on this very important issue is an indication as to why the regions are not connected. They are not connected because this government does not care about them. That cost, $2.7 billion—that is 30,000 jobs—is the cost for one year alone. Just imagine how much the regions have been missing out since this government has been in office!

It is not, as I said, just about how businesses can take the opportunity. Just think about it: why would businesses set up in the regions if they cannot get the same speed of access to the internet as you get in the capital cities? Where is the encouragement to decentralise? Where is the encouragement to home based industries? Where is the ability for people looking for markets to access this information readily? Where is its ability to make the tenders and make the offers? That is what the regions are missing out on. But it is not just businesses.

Think about it in terms of educational opportunity for young kids growing up in the regions. If they cannot get the same access to the internet as their contemporaries in the capital cities, just imagine what they are missing out on in terms of their learning opportunities. And what about entertainment, the cultural dimension, for people who make the choice to live, grow up and develop in regional communities? They cannot get the same entertainment. And what about the cultural connectivity? This is why this is such a fundamental investment that needs to be made.

I note that Professor Smarr said in the article today that it was encouraging that this debate was being had in this country today. The only reason we are having the debate in this country today is that Labor has put out a plan to connect the nation—a plan that is costed, a plan that is funded, a $4.7 billion plan that will enable the rollout of a new fibre-to-the-node network across the whole of the country. It will connect, through fibre to the node, 98 per cent of Australians to high-speed broadband services at a minimum speed of 12 megabits per second, a speed almost 40 times faster than most current speeds. The remaining two per cent—

Mr Ciobo —That’s it!

Mr CREAN —No, it is not. That is not it, and this is where the leader of the National Party has misrepresented our position: 98 per cent is all that can be done on known technology today, fibre to the node. We have committed to ensure that the other two per cent get the equivalent access through alternative technologies, and we have funded and built that into our program. The Leader of the National Party said the other day that 400,000 Australians will miss out—that is the two per cent. He has not even bothered to read the policy. But then he goes on to assert that even the 98 per cent fibre-to-the-node connection cannot be made. Well, he is wrong on that count too, because Telstra itself has said it is capable of connecting 98 per cent with fibre to the node. What it is not prepared to do, though, is what this government leaves it to do, and that is make the investment where there is market failure.

The simple fact remains that, if it is left to Telstra or the G9 group, they will only connect where it is economic to do so. That is the capital cities. The regions will be left behind. That is what is called market failure. That has always been the case in this country. It always will be, in my view, because of the vastness of our size and the dispersal of the population. There is market failure when it comes to telecommunications, and that is why you need a government in there in partnership with the private providers, connecting the nation—the whole of the nation: all of the regions, not just the capital cities.

We have heard in this House that the government say they can do it without any public expenditure. That is what we have heard the smug Treasurer say: that their proposal to connect fibre to the node will be done without any public expenditure. But what then, I ask, has been the need for the $4 billion in public expenditure that this government has put into programs since it came to office—$4 billion ostensibly to connect the nation? They have criticised us for our $4.7 billion plan, essentially implying that you do not need any public money, when in fact they have spent $4 billion since they came to office but have failed to connect the regions at all. It has been a complete waste of money. We know they have had the money, of course, because they have sold Telstra. In fact, the only telecommunications plan the government have had has been to sell Telstra, not to connect the nation. But the simple fact remains that from all of those proceeds they have failed dismally to connect the nation. They have gone about from election to election offering more suggestions, more pork barrels, but they have not connected the nation.

Professor Smarr has also said that we need a fibre network because the copper network is not fast enough. We agree. But that is what our commitment is. We are the only party with a commitment to forge the partnership that will offer that fibre network, a network which can be continually upgraded so that the investment we make today can be built on for the future. The $4.7 billion that Labor have committed to is funded from existing government investments in telecommunications, including the $2 billion Communications Fund and through the Future Fund’s 17 per cent share in Telstra, which will earn dividends and be sold down to normal levels after November 2008. I ask the House: why should the proceeds of the further sale of Telstra simply be used to go to pay off the superannuation liabilities of Commonwealth public servants? Why shouldn’t there be a preparedness to use the nation’s earnings on its investment to reinvest in the national interest, for all Australians? In essence, what Labor are proposing to do is to use the proceeds from the nation’s past investment to reinvest in the nation’s future. That is a smart way to do things. It is the Labor way to do things. It is not the way this government is going.

In essence, Labor will do more with the remaining 17 per cent share of Telstra to connect the nation than the government has done by flogging off the other 83 per cent. The government’s sale of Telstra has been a disgrace in terms of reinvestment back into much-needed telecommunications infrastructure in this country. They talk about the need to have a community service obligation when it comes to standard telephone services, but why not a commitment to guarantee standard access to fast broadband over the internet? They will not do it. Only Labor is prepared to make that commitment. Only Labor is prepared to address the market failure. As usual, we see the government panicking. They know that Labor’s initiative has real traction. They are now trying to pretend that they really are committed to connecting the nation, but not so long ago the minister was saying, ‘No-one is complaining about broadband speeds in metropolitan Australia.’ I do not know who she has been listening to; there are parts of my electorate that still do not get broadband, and I know that other seats that we represent do not get it.

Ms Kate Ellis interjecting—

Mr CREAN —Altona, of course. These are all areas in metropolitan Australia that, like regional Australia, are missing out because of the government’s flawed approach. The government have no plans and no costings. They have made no commitment to roll out 12 megabits per second. Labor is the only party to have made such a commitment. On the one hand, we have the Treasurer saying that no public money needs to be committed and, on the other hand, we have other ministers telling us how they are going to find additional funds to meet regional Australia’s needs. Why would we believe them now? They have been making these claims for the past 11 years and they have failed to deliver.

This country needs a party that is committed to addressing the market failure and committed to ensuring that the whole of Australia is connected and that the regions are not left behind. The only party with such a plan is the Labor Party, and the sooner we have an election to give us the opportunity to implement it, the better off this country will be.