Page 892 - Week 03 - Wednesday, 9 April 2014
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The theme here really is the lack of detail which the government has provided. We know the aspirations of the government. We know that a figure of $4.4 million has been mentioned in the media. But again, where is the detail? To put it into context, the Canberra Times reported on 14 March this year that, according to the Treasurer, the ACT deficit had blown out from $254 million to $361 million. If we have already got a budget blowout, is this project going to add to the budget blowout? If it is, we need to know accurately by how much? We cannot keep spending money we do not have. Labor is good at doing that, but there comes a time when the debt has to be repaid. All we have to do is look at the national situation on this.
Ms Berry’s motion also refers to the federal government’s plans for the NBN. They have given a commitment to utilise highly effective smart technologies in the delivery of a high-speed broadband network service which will ensure that Australia does not fall behind in the worldwide digital revolution. We agree that is important. What is even more important is that the coalition government will provide the NBN to all Australians sooner and at less cost to taxpayers than was on offer under Labor. This is in stark contrast to the former Labor government, which was behind schedule and over budget.
Under the coalition NBN model, access to high-speed internet will be provided through utilising a suite of technologies, including, fibre, fixed wireless and satellite, dependent on where you live. The NBN will provide endless possibilities for the education sector, the disability sector and, more notably, the health sector, to name a few. Importantly, under this federal government’s rollout of the NBN, there is the potential for further ICT job growth in the ACT and surrounds, as well as supporting education opportunities for all Canberrans.
I reiterate: you will find no argument from this side of the chamber that investing in our digital economy is fundamentally important in ensuring the growth of business, education, employment, health and research. But this investment must be cost effective and, more importantly, beneficial to Canberrans. The little glossy brochure, which is really all we have to go on, provides little insight as to whether any of these requirements will be met. With no time frames, individual costings or detail, it is less action plan and more procrastination plan. It has the potential to join a whole suite of services the government has promised but not yet delivered.
The digital Canberra challenge is a great initiative and something which we certainly support. Providing the public with the ability to outline issues they see need addressing and then allowing those in the ICT sector the opportunity to challenge themselves to create a solution provides an opportunity for innovative thinking within the context of a dynamic supported environment.
In summary, we support the broader terms of this motion. It highlights some very important developments that the ACT needs. However, it is lacking rigour around money and timing. We believe that this motion can be enhanced by an amendment. We believe that this amendment will provide an opportunity for the government to provide details of the costings that the current action plan fails to deliver, ensuring
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