Parkes electorate loses out under Labor’s broadband con
18-August-2010
Source: Mark Coulton, MP –
Federal Member for Parkes Mark Coulton has rejected a claim by the NSW Farmer’s Association that the Coalition’s broadband policy will provide uncertainty on the delivery of service and price for people in regional Australia.
Mr Coulton said the Coalition has a realistic plan for broadband which will bring high speed and affordable broadband services to our communities years earlier and at about one-seventh of the cost of Labor’s $43 billion NBN white elephant.
“People must understand that Labor’s NBN is nothing short of the most expensive con in taxpayer history,” he said.
“I have serious reservations about whether Labor’s $43 billion NBN will ever get off the ground. If it does, it will not service towns in the Parkes electorate with a population under 1000 such as Baradine, Boggabilla, Collarenebri, Coolah, Dunedoo and Mungindi.
“Despite what the NSW Farmers Association are claiming, Labor’s plan will not deliver fibre optic cable to farms. It will not deliver faster broadband to the Parkes electorate for well over a decade, if at all.
“The Coalition’s plan combines the best mix of optical fibre, wireless, DSL and satellite technology to deliver services sooner, providing real benefits where they are needed.
“Affordable access to high speed broadband services is crucial for the future of the Parkes electorate and only the Coalition has the plan to deliver it.
Mr Coulton warned people not to believe they will receive high speed broadband services under Labor.
He said that before the 2007 election, Labor promised they would provide fast broadband to 98 per cent of the population for less than $5 billion.
“That promise now covers only 90 per cent of the population and the cost has ballooned to $43 billion, and rising. That is two million Australians – all in regional Australia and far too many in the Parkes electorate – who were promised broadband that will now miss out. If the former Coalition government’s Opel contract has been allowed to progress, the regions would be receiving fast broadband right now,” he said.
“The road to faster broadband is not through a government monopoly, with taxpayers owning the risk. The Coalition does not believe it is the role of government to force taxpayers to spend billions of dollars to build and or buy businesses in areas where the private sector is able to perform the role.”
“This policy was literally scribbled together by Kevin Rudd and Stephen Conroy on a couple of flights between Melbourne and Sydney.
“Ultimately, what the government is proposing is to spend $43 billion of taxpayers’ money at a time when we have record levels of debt on a project that has no cost-benefit analysis.
“Every household in Australia will effectively be paying more than $5000 for the NBN, whether they want it or not. This is in contrast to countries such as Singapore where the taxpayer contribution was around $200 per person and New Zealand, where it was $330.
“This is the most expensive proposed broadband network in the world. This project represents the largest investment of taxpayer funds in Australia’s history and it is being run by the same government that failed to build school halls without blowing $6 billion and put insulation in homes without burning them down.
“It will increase the cost of the internet as users will be forced to pay higher costs to justify the government’s investment. A number of experts have also warned that the cost of the NBN could blow out to nearly double and those in regional Australia are likely to end up with an inferior service as Labor racks up more debt and runs out of money for its reckless, unrealistic scheme.
“Most importantly, the money that is saved with the Coalition’s plan will be invested on improving our hospitals, our schools and our roads.”
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