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Thursday, 9 February 2012
Page: 574

Broadband

Senator PRATT (Western Australia) (14:35): My question is to the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Conroy. Can the minister please advise the Senate of statements of support for the $620 million satellite announcement that was made yesterday?

Senator CONROY (Victoria—Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate and Minister Assisting the Prime Minister on Digital Productivity) (14:36): I thank the senator for her ongoing interest in the NBN. Yesterday was another very important day in the rollout of the National Broadband Network and, more importantly, for those Australians who will rely on the satellites to provide a level of service and a price that is affordable. Whilst the National Party has rolled over to the Liberal Party in supporting a project that Senators Joyce and Nash once claimed as their own, I am happy to report that none other than the National Farmers Federation have recognised what this announcement means for regional and remote communities. Mr Jock Laurie, the NFF president, responded to our announcements by not only welcoming it but coming out and saying that it was very positive. He said:

We welcome the commitment from the Government, and their acknowledgement that those who live in rural, regional and remote areas should not be disadvantaged when it comes to telecommunications.

The NFF believe that one of the keys to their success has been their commitment to presenting innovative and forward-looking solutions, and the Gillard government strongly believe that the NBN is indeed an innovative and forward-looking solution for the nation. I said it yesterday and I will say it again today: there is only one party that is committed to delivering and guaranteeing the same price for the same service regardless of whether you live in the city or the bush. We share Mr Laurie's view: 'We’re looking forward to the day when all Australians have equal access to telecommunications.'

Senator PRATT (Western Australia) (14:38): Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. Following on from this announce­ment and my question just now regarding the investment in these two new satellites, can the minister please advise the Senate of any other views expressed regarding this invest­ment?

Senator CONROY (Victoria—Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate and Minister Assisting the Prime Minister on Digital Productivity) (14:38): Sadly, it appears that support for equal access to telecommuni­cations in this country is no longer a bipartisan position. The coalition has now abandoned regional Australia. In responding to yesterday's announcement, Mr Turnbull suggested he would consider selling the satellites. Mr Turnbull also misled the Australian public by asserting that there was sufficient satellite capacity that we could either lease or upgrade. But NBN Co. is already using existing satellite capacity to provide an interim satellite service, an investment of $300 million through to 2015. This is only the first step, which is providing half the service speeds on the way to the reliable 12-meg down and one-meg up that everyone else in Australia will enjoy on the NBN. (Time expired)

Senator PRATT (Western Australia) (14:39): Mr President, I ask a further supple­mentary question. Can the minister further advise the Senate on any additional views expressed with regard to the NBN satellite announcement?

Senator CONROY (Victoria—Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate and Minister Assisting the Prime Minister on Digital Productivity) (14:39): There were some quite entertaining views yesterday. In fact, Mr Turnbull won the award, because he claimed that existing satellites can simply be upgraded. Mr Turnbull has no idea what he is talking about on this matter. It is not farcical enough that Mr Turnbull thinks that you can just upgrade a satellite. We also have the Nationals member for Cowper, Mr Hartsuyker, demonstrating that he does not understand what used to be the coalition policy, or what masquerades today as their policy. Mr Hartsuyker not only claimed that OPEL would have ensured that 98 per cent of Australians had access to speeds of up to 12 megabits, which is simply not true; he also claimed that OPEL included satellites—which it did not. Mr Hartsuyker would also do well to understand that the current coalition policy has denied regional Australians— (Time expired)