Page 86 - Week 01 - Tuesday, 9 February 2016
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It is safe to say that businesses in Singapore and Wellington do not suffer from these problems. Both here and in the federal parliament it is the Labor Party that understand how important decent internet services are for the future of this country and our businesses. It is just a shame that the Liberals lack vision, which means they are starving Canberra businesses of their full potential.
MR WALL (Brindabella) (4.23): I thank Ms Porter for bringing this discussion topic—namely, internet services in the territory—to the Assembly today. I, like many other members, am constantly approached by constituents in my electorate, in the Tuggeranong area, who raise concern about the quality of the internet service that is available to them down there. As recently as last week, while doorknocking in Tuggeranong, almost every house raised the issue of their broadband access. I was in Fadden. For those of you who are unfamiliar with how the Tuggeranong phone network works, suburbs such as Fadden and Macarthur operate out of the Monash telephone exchange, which is some considerable distance away from those homes. So when they do have access to the internet, it is of a very poor standard. When everyone gets home and flicks on Netflix or tries to download their emails or whatnot, that service is constantly choking and it is in desperate need of some upgrade.
I am encouraged that this topic is being raised in the Assembly today because it is something that requires all of us—Liberal, Labor and Greens members—to advocate for, to make sure that we do get proper broadband services here in the territory, not just for recreational and family use, but, more importantly—and this is a larger imperative—for business, particularly small businesses seeking to operate from home premises.
Ms Porter’s speech, and even Dr Bourke’s speech, illustrate why the ACT has been struggling with internet connectivity for quite some time. It is because it has become a pork-barrelling creature for both parties at the federal level. I think Labor is as guilty of it as the coalition, in that the favoured electorates are bumped up the schedule each time there is a change of government. Unfortunately, the ACT continues to miss out.
I am doing all that I can in my capacity to lobby my federal colleagues to ensure that particularly Tuggeranong gets put back on the roll-out schedule as quickly as possible, and that the opportunities that faster internet speeds bring are recognised in my electorate.
It is poignant to touch on the impact on so many businesses in Hume at the tail end of last year, when a fault in the Jerrabomberra telephone exchange caused the majority of businesses in Hume to be without internet for, in some instances, a couple of weeks. Not only was that irritating and an annoyance for them, but in many instances it cost thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of dollars in lost opportunity, lost business and lost economic activity for the territory. That highlights in this day and age how important internet connectivity is to all citizens in the territory, particularly our business sector.
I would urge all members here to try and take some of the politics out of this issue and lobby for what is in the best interests of the people we represent here in the ACT, that is, that the territory be reinstated wholly on the NBN roll-out schedule and that it be done as a priority.
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