Question time response - National Broadband Network | Ministers for the Department of Infrastructure

Question – Federal Member for Chishlom, Dr Carina Garland

How will keeping the National Broadband Network from public ownership deliver productivity, connectivity and cost-of-living benefits for Australians?

Answer – Minister for Communications, the Hon Michelle Rowland MP

I thank the Member for her question. Labor founded the National Broadband Network to provide fast and reliable and affordable wideband to all Australians and we are delivering on that vision for a world-class network. Only by keeping the NBN in public ownership, can that vision continue to be delivered.

Mr Speaker, the NBN is critical infrastructure that reaches over 12 million premises across Australia. More than 8.6 million homes are currently connected to the NBN. On Government ownership of the NBN, it will help keep wholesale broadband prices more affordable for consumers than if the company was in private ownership. The Albanese Government is investing $2.4 billion over four years to give more households and businesses full-fibre access.

More than 70,000 km of new fibre has been rolled out. And, over 2300 fixed wireless towers have been upgraded. Mr Speaker, for the first time, this work is progressing on time and on budget. Fibre speeds can deliver speeds 18 times faster than the average connection and is less likely to drop out.

From next year, Mr Speaker, the NBN will be boosting download speeds by up to five times current speeds at no extra wholesale cost. Mr Speaker. The productivity and efficiency gains are significant. Research commissioned by NBN shows that Australians save more than 100 hours and $2580 per year in avoided travel time and costs in working from home and undertaking tasks online.

And, Mr Speaker, we know that the Coalition wants to sell the NBN just like they sold Telstra. Just like they sold Telstra. In fact, the former Minister declared in 2020, that the NBN was built and fully operational. Mission accomplished, he declared. Despite the fact that there were still millions of Australians on a fixed-line footprint, stranded on deteriorating Coalition copper. They took the first step in the NBN sale process.

This was the legacy of the ill-fated copper experiment that blew out the cost of the NBN from $29 billion to $41 billion and then $49 billion and then $57 billion and we know that the Liberals have fallen, selling off assets and leaving ordinary Australians with higher prices and poorer services and The Nationals two weeks to stand up to them.