Shadow communications spokesman Malcolm Turnbull has "no interest" in demolishing the National Broadband Network, and if the Coalition were to form Government before then NBN is completed, it would make the best possible use of the infrastructure already built.

Mexican telecommunications mogul Carlos Slim Helu says the Commonwealth's optical-fibre National Broadband Network seems over-priced at $43 billion and that Government should focus on a mix of technologies that includes fibre, wireless and copper.

Communications Minister Stephen Conroy has denied the Government plan to introduce internet filtering legislation was a waste of time or money, despite not having the numbers in the Senate to get it passed.

The technology sector's profile got a big promotion within the Gillard Government when ACT Senator Kate Lundy was elevated into a Parliamentary Secretary role. It's in her nature these days, it seems, she takes the industry with her wherever she goes.

Communications Minister Stephen Conroy has rejoined the fray in the growing battle over broadband in Australia, telling the World Computer Congress in Brisbane that there are times when Government's have a responsibility to step in and shape the nation's future.

Business investment in research and development jumped 13 per cent in 2008-09 to $16.9 billion, continuing a strong five-year run of growth, according to just-released numbers from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

The Governor General Quentin Bryce;s administrative arrangements order issued with the swearing in of Ministers confirms the expanded role of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet in the coordination of tech sector issues.

Pressure is growing on newly-appointed Opposition communications spokesman Malcolm Turnbull to deal with the industry reform legislation that will enable the $9 billion Telstra structural separation deal to proceed.  

Malcolm Turnbull's claim that a UN report on broadband had undermined Government's plan for a fibre to the home National Broadband Network was based on a narrow reading of its findings and a misunderstanding of the technology being utilised. That is the response from the office of the communications minister.

A United Nations report on broadband infrastructure recommends that government's remain "technology neutral" in national roll-outs as the most risk averse strategy - a finding Malcolm Turnbull says highlights the Coalition's concerns about the NBN.