Speech - Innovate with NBN

Hi, I’m Michelle Rowland, Minister for Communications. 

Thank you for inviting me to say a few words at this year’s Innovate with NBN Awards.

I acknowledge the Gadigal People of the Eora Nation, the Traditional Owners of the land you are gathered on.

I pay respect to Elders past, and present and extend this to First Nations people attending – including some of this year’s outstanding finalists. 

I congratulate all of the 2024 finalists for their exceptional entrepreneurial ideas and innovations.

These Awards showcase some of the best regional and remote businesses that live and breathe technology, and who are harnessing the NBN network.

The Albanese Government understands the important role connectivity plays in helping businesses succeed and the staff at NBN are incredibly passionate about this mission.

This is why we invested $2.4 billion to expand full-fibre access to an additional 1.5 million premises – including more than 660,000 businesses and households in regional and rural communities.

This is part of our commitment to ensure 90 per cent of premises in the fixed-line footprint have access to world-class gigabit speeds, helping drive economic, social and productivity benefits for the nation.

I am pleased to report NBN are delivering these upgrades on-time and on-budget, including the regional fixed-wireless network. 

The expansion of fibre is seeing a reduction in internet dropouts and fault rates across the network, delivering a better experience for households and businesses.

The Government and NBN have also partnered with retail providers to provide free connectivity to nearly 20,000 unconnected families.

The Award categories tonight encompass a range of categories: First Nations businesses and tech companies who are partnering with remote communities to create digital solutions – across education, farming, health, tourism and content creation.

And it is terrific to see the Award category for entrepreneurial businesswomen who are driving community-led change.

The NBN should never be a discussion about what it is – rather what it helps people and businesses do.

There is no better example than the innovation and solutions on display at these awards by all of you in attendance. 

I look forward to seeing your endeavours evolve and succeed. 

Congratulations, once again, and enjoy your evening.