BROADBAND ACCESS

The Hon. C.V. SCHAEFER (16:01): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Small Business a question about high speed broadband.

Leave granted.

The Hon. C.V. SCHAEFER: The federal government's new scheme for high speed broadband rollout will, by its own admission, not be available to any town with a population of less than 1,000 and will certainly not be available to people outside a very narrow radius around those towns. The minister is well aware that these are the very businesses that need to use advanced technology to trade and to remain competitive. I cite as examples farmers trading grain on the world market, the fledgling mining industry, regional tourism and the accommodation industry as well as the many other small businesses that service these small towns.

The minister is also well aware that South Australia has a larger percentage of towns with populations of less than 1,000 than most states. My question is: has the minister or anyone from the state government made representation to their federal Labor colleagues either opposing this scheme or, at the very least, pointing out that they are again discriminating against the less populous states?

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY (Minister for Mineral Resources Development, Minister for Urban Development and Planning, Minister for Small Business) (16:03): The question asked by the honourable member is an important one. Obviously, the federal government has been attempting to improve broadband facilities for all Australians because clearly our systems have not been up to scratch in the past. Of course, it was one of the important issues at the last election that the federal government campaigned on and, certainly, the comments that I have read in response to the federal government's proposals show that they have generally been very warmly welcomed by the industry.

I know in recent days, and in the past few days in particular, that there have been some comments in relation to what impact this might have on small communities. I am aware of those comments, and I am seeking some information. I do not have that information to hand yet, but I will make sure that I get that information which I have requested in relation to the impact of this system on regional communities and the benefits or otherwise of such a scheme, and I will take whatever action is necessary when I get that information. I do accept that broadband and better internet access are very important to all Australians.

It is interesting that there was an article yesterday, I think, suggesting that one of the problems the world may well face is there has been such a massive growth in connections to the internet that it may well slow down the whole system on a worldwide level in the next few years. I hope that is speculative but, clearly, within this country we have for many years lagged behind the sorts of systems that are available in many parts of the world. When I was in Korea a few years ago, I observed that the access and the speed of the internet available to residents and businesses in those communities was much faster than it was here.

At this stage, it is still somewhat of a moving feast, but I accept the importance of the honourable member's question. She can be assured that this government will make whatever representations are necessary—if, in fact, they are necessary—to ensure that South Australians get a good deal out of the commonwealth's proposals.