SUBJECTS: Labor’s National Broadband Network announcement; vaccine mandates; Labor’s policy agenda; Federal election; lack of trust in Scott Morrison and his Government; protests in Melbourne.
 
SUSAN TEMPLEMAN, MEMBER FOR MACQUARIE: Hi, everyone. I'm Susan Templeman, the Member for Macquarie. It is wonderful to welcome you all to Bethany, a beautiful place to come and stay in Leura, as are our B&Bs across the mountains. Wonderful to have you here, Anthony and Michelle, to talk about something that has been a deep passion of mine. And that is getting the Upper Mountains connected to the internet in a way that takes them into the 21st century. Right now, we have businesses in the Blue Mountains, we have families trying to educate kids, we've got uni students who have fragile and very slow connections to the NBN. And that's because they're on fibre to the node. There's fibre to a box, and from that box stretches out the copper. The copper that should not be in our network anywhere, because it is so last century. With me is Aaron, who owns the beautiful Bethany, Keaton, who is a film producer, and Ron, who works in sound and lighting as a small business. Now, each of these businesses suffers. They suffer because of the failure of the fibre to the node network. So, they suffer because the speeds are so low. We see speeds well below what the Government mandates. Speeds that are so low that they might as well not even be happening. We see an inability for it to cope with the creatives who are in our Upper Mountains who require fast upload speeds, as well as decent download speeds. We have a B&B here, who rates almost 10 out of 10 for every category, except Wi-Fi. Now, these are the things that make it harder to run a business in the Blue Mountains. This is a place that should be thriving with small businesses. But instead, we've got businesses looking to relocate their office site because the NBN is not up for the job. So, I'm thrilled to have Michelle and Anthony here to talk about the changes that Labor will make so that the NBN stops being a joke for people on fibre to the node and starts being what we intended it to be and that is something that facilitates high-speed 21st century communication. Thanks, Anthony.
 
ANTHONY ALBANESE, LEADER OF THE AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY: Well, thanks very much, Susan. And thanks for your advocacy, ongoing, for the people and businesses of the Blue Mountains. I'm pleased to be here today on day three with Michelle Rowland supporting what the National Broadband Network should be, supporting what it was planned to be under the former Labor Government in which I was proud to be the Communications Minister and proud to be the minister who introduced the legislation into our national Parliament to bring Australia into the 21st century.
 
Australia is a G20 nation. That is, we are one of the big economies. But we're running 59th in the world when it comes to our broadband speeds. That means we're less competitive. That means in an era of globalisation, we're falling behind the rest of the world. That's the big picture. But the smaller picture is that businesses like the one here at Bethany, this magnificent place to stay, a B&B, where people would come and experience this beautiful natural environment and facilities which are here, their experience is undermined by the fact they can't get access to decent NBN. It means that they can't do that little bit of work and they can't keep in touch with their business and perhaps stay an extra day or two. And that comes through in the ratings of this business. But it also comes through with other businesses who are missing out. We've heard today from people in the film industry who want to get connected and someone will ring their number, won't be able to find out if they're still in business or not, because it'll come up that this number is not in service. The truth is we need to do much better. And that's why we'll connect an additional 1.5 million homes. That is why we will contribute an additional $2.4 billion to make sure that homes and businesses can have access to high-speed broadband. That is essential in the 21st century. And the idea that the Government has purchased, with taxpayer funds, enough copper wire to go around the earth one and a half times in the 21st century is just absurd. It really is a horse and buggy approach that this Government have towards new technology. And it shows whether it's in fibre-based broadband or whether it be the adoption of renewables and the need to adapt to climate change, this is a Government that isn't up to the present, let alone capable of helping to shape and create the future. As we imagine a better Australia, a stronger Australia, coming out of the pandemic, we need to embrace new technology and opportunity. We need to think about how we can be a stronger economy with more high-value jobs. Part of that is high-speed broadband and modern communications to connect people and businesses with markets, not just nationally, but globally as well. That's why our announcement is so important. Yesterday, we were in school talking about the importance of education services. Today, small business. What we know is that high-speed broadband was never about just downloading videos, it was about uploading, it was about access to education and health services, access for businesses, to markets access to high-speed broadband for the everyday activity that small business, in particular, relies upon. And in our outer regions, areas like the Blue Mountains here, it's really holding back these businesses. Australia deserves better. Which is why our plan for high-speed broadband for more people and more businesses is so important.
 
MICHELLE ROWLAND, SHADOW MINISTER FOR COMMUNICATIONS: Thank you. As Anthony said, the good small businesses and individuals whom we have met with today really do epitomise the reason why we need access to the highest quality broadband here in the Blue Mountains. And the advocacy that Susan Templeman, as the local member, has shown, really does need to be applauded. As Anthony said, this is part of a very important repair job, enabling access to fibre to up to 1.5 million additional premises across Australia. This is important too as we come out of the pandemic, where so much has changed and there will be new normals. It's important that no matter where you live in Australia, you have a quality of access to the highest broadband available, the best speeds, the best quality. That is the Labor mission. To ensure that no one is left behind and everyone has the greatest opportunity to succeed.
 
TEMPLEMAN: I might just add a couple of local things. Just to pick up on some of those big numbers, what this means for every household that is on fibre to the node from Lawson to Mount Victoria, that's about 18,000 premises. It means that they will have the opportunity to upgrade. But it also, in the electorate of Macquarie, affects thousands more households in the Hawkesbury region. And that's places like Pitt Town, it's Wilberforce, it's McGraths Hill, places that rely on solid communication. McGraths Hill was underwater in the last floods, large areas of it. They need a reliable technology that's not going to stop when there's really hot weather, when there's storms or when there's floods. And not only does this provide the certainty for small businesses to be able to operate at their best, but it also provides a really important service for people in this region, which is one of the most natural disaster-prone areas that we have. So, this is not just about small business. But as a former small businesswoman, it is so important that our local economy is able to thrive. It's about being ready for when those natural disasters hit so that people can stay connected. And that could be life or death.
 
ALBANESE: Thanks very much, Susan. As you can see, a very passionate, local advocate for her community here in the Mountains but also in the Hawkesbury. Happy to take questions.
 
JOURNALIST: Do you support vaccine mandates?
 
ALBANESE: Well, our position is to listen to the health advice. And here in New South Wales, I was able to attend a local pub in my electorate last night, the General Gordon. People might remember it was burnt down a couple of years ago and they've rebuilt it. In order to get into that pub, you had to show that you'd been fully vaccinated under the New South Wales Liberal Government's rules. And state governments have implemented rules based upon keeping people safe, based upon the health advice. What I find extraordinary is the Prime Minister's performance yesterday. The Prime Minister yesterday failed to unequivocally condemn the violent and extreme statements that we've seen outside the Victorian Parliament, that consisted of explicit threats against Premier Andrews and other ministers in the Victorian Government, that included people going along with gallows, speaking about hanging people and wanting to see people on the end of a noose. When he made some statements saying that was inappropriate, but then went on to speak about people's frustrations, he only put the second bit up on his Facebook posts, thereby eliminating any criticism of this activity.
 
And I ask people to think about this. When women marched on Canberra for the March4Justice as a result of issues relating to Brittany Higgins and the alleged assault of a staff member of the Government in a ministerial office, the Prime Minister spoke about March4Justice by standing up in Parliament and saying it was lucky they were not met with bullets. When people marched on the Victorian Parliament with gallows, threatening people with being hung, he spoke about how he understands people's frustration. I ask people to think about that and whether that represents the leadership that this country needs.
 
This Prime Minister also spoke about choice. Well, it is a bit rich coming from a guy who went to Cobargo after the bushfires, that devastated this community here in the Blue Mountains as well, and forced people to shake his hand. This is a Government that has mandated and had compulsion over a range of issues in industrial relations across the board, and a Government that continues to have that approach on a range of issues. The truth is that state governments have continued to place restrictions, Liberal and Labor, across the country, to keep residents in their states and territories say. I haven't been critical of any of those state governments, including the restrictions that have been placed on people here in New South Wales.
 
JOURNALIST: Several states have been forced to use the mandates to get their vaccination rates up. You touched on it, but is the Prime Minister right to be critical of that?
 
ALBANESE: Well, the PM wants to claim credit at times for vaccination rates but opposed all the measures that have been in place to lift those vaccination rates. The Prime Minister, of course, failed to secure enough supply of vaccines, and then has gone about engaging in the word games he played yesterday. The Prime Minister needs to clearly and unequivocally condemn the threats of violence that have been made by demonstrators. They have no place in Australian political life. They have no place in the context whereby a range of ministers who I have spoken to, and premiers, have had to shut offices and have security upgraded. Can I say this as well, in the wake of the murder of a British MP, I certainly had discussions with the appropriate Government ministers about security for Members of Parliament. It is beyond comprehension that the Prime Minister seems incapable of putting forward a clear and unequivocal condemnation of the threats without then seeking to qualify that condemnation.
 
JOURNALIST: Can you explain briefly the funding planned for the NBN?
 
ALBANESE: The funding plan here is that we will provide an additional $2.4 billion. What that will do is to go back and be able to give access to businesses and people who want to connect up with fibre rather than copper to their homes and businesses. The original NBN model, of course, was that fibre would be given to the premise in 93 per cent of homes. It was a about equity. And it was always about education and health and other services as well. But I might see if Michelle wants to add something in there.
 
ROWLAND: As Anthony has said, this is an additional $2.4 billion investment. Currently, as you'll be aware, the NBN is funded off budget. And that's the accounting system that will continue to be used. And it will be a combination of Commonwealth loans, equity, but also free cash flows, which the NBN will actually be generating in the next couple of years. So, that's the funding source. So, it's exactly as the NBN is funded now.
 
ALBANESE: Thank you. Could I just make some final comments about Simon Birmingham, who has made quite an extraordinary claim yet again. It's Friday, so there's another Simon Birmingham special that appears to be every Friday from a Government that really just makes things up from time to time, whereby he has said that premiers are sitting around on a WhatsApp group trying to calculate coordinated statements on the Prime Minister, Scott Morrison. I understand that Simon Birmingham must be embarrassed by some of Scott Morrison's comments, because Simon Birmingham, I think, has a different character. But the truth is that premiers, whether they be Labor or Liberal, people like Dom Perrottet or Gladys Berejiklian previously, or Steven Marshall for that matter, aren't sitting around thinking about Scott Morrison. What they've been focused on, right around the country, is on keeping their people safe. And people don't have to coordinate or discuss what comments they might make about violent behaviour and threats that are being made. The truth is that, overwhelmingly, most politicians would just go with their gut instinct and with who they are and condemn such things. They don't need to be discussed. That's just what people do. Because we know that any threats or intimidation against any parliamentarian or against anyone in civil life or, indeed, against anyone in the country, is just not appropriate. It's not the way that we do things in Australia. What we need is civil discourse. What we need is people to be able to put their views democratically, to put them in a way that is peaceful and respectful. And that's the way that we conduct public discourse in this country. It's been our way for a long period of time. And what we don't need is the sort of equivocal language that we've seen. And for Simon Birmingham, I can confirm that it doesn't need anyone to coordinate comments. All it requires is a bit of decency and a bit of good character.
 

ENDS