Coalition NBN policy 'dangerous': Greens

James Riley
Tuesday, 18 October 2011 13:43

IT Policy - Government Tech Policy

As the NBN Company today released plans to roll-out its fibre network to nearly 500,000 homes in the next 12 months, the Australian Greens say Opposition leader Tony Abbott must now drop the Coalition plan to "demolish" the NBN if it is elected.

Greens Communications spokesman Scott Ludlam said the Coalition's "destructive fantasy" of discontinuing and wrecking the National Broadband Network was becoming more untenable as the NBN Co moved into volume construction phase of the network.

NBN Co today released its 12-month forward plan for the construction of the fibre network, which includes the connection of 485,000 premises at 28 new construction locations across the country.

As more homes were connected to the network, Tony Abbott's vow to "demolish" the NBN was even more "costly and risky."

"This 12-month schedule marks the end of the preliminary systems trial phase, the beginning of the volume rollout, and the final nail in the Coalition's costly and partisan scheme to wreck the NBN," Senator Ludlam said.

He said the Coalition has turned its back on the outer suburbs and regional Australia by opposing the project, which Senator Ludlam says will improve connectivity speeds of millions of Australians.

"Perhaps internet speeds in the electorate of (Opposition communications spokesman Malcolm Turnbull's)Wentworth are up to scratch, but many of our country's small businesses, schools, local councils and other groups and individuals have to work with extremely slow and unreliable internet connections," Senator Ludlam said.

"At 81,700 premises the connection is already in place or the work is being carried out right now, over the next 12 months another 485,100 homes around Australia will be connected to the high-speed fibre broadband network," said Senator Ludlam. "The Opposition's costly and risky demolition delusion has to end."

Earlier, Prime Minister Julia Gillard said the 12-month roll-out plan represented a milestone for the NBN Company as it moved to the volume construction phase of the project. Speaking from Wollongong - where construction on the NBN will start in the next 12 months - Ms Gillard said the fibre connections would improve education and economic outcomes for recipients.

"This announcement puts them on the path to receiving the essential infrastructure that will bridge the digital divide, provide better educational outcomes, improve health service delivery and increase economic opportunities," Ms Gillard said.

"The NBN will be a massive boost for the Australian economy, opening up previously inaccessible national and global markets," she said.

A recent Access Economics report found that the internet contributes $50 billion to the Australian economy and that over the next five years that figure will increase to $70 billion.