Why the NBN is not for sale under the Labor government
The NBN is an essential piece of national utility infrastructure, Photo: AAP
The Albanese government has introduced new legislation to keep the National Broadband Network (NBN) in public ownership.
We are determined not to make the same mistakes as former Coalition governments, that mismanaged communications policy in Australia for decades.
When John Howard was swept from office in 2007, he left Australia a broadband backwater.
The privatisation of Telstra was a terrible policy outcome driven by ideological zealotry, and left regional communities hostage to the monopoly market power of Telstra.
Crucially, the sale also deprived the government of strategic levers to drive the investment necessary for Australians to fully access reliable high-speed broadband and the productivity and digital inclusion benefits that delivers.
Essential infrastructure
Labor’s decision in 2008 to deploy a ubiquitous government-owned National Broadband Network rightly took a long-term view of the needs of Australian consumers and taxpayers.
As Prime Minister Albanese has said, the NBN was built by Australians, for Australians. It belongs to all Australians. And it belongs in public hands.
The NBN is an essential piece of national utility infrastructure, helping people connect regardless of where they live or work.
This was initiated by Labor with a positive vision for the future – delivering equity in access and opportunity, combined with sound long-term economics.
It meant Australians would enjoy a world-class connectivity powering the digital economy for decades to come.
Coalition ‘wrecking ball’
Enter the wrecking ball of former Coalition prime ministers Tony Abbott and Malcolm Turnbull – who attacked public ownership and any policy idea associated with it.
Just as they sold out Australia on the privatisation of Telstra, the Coalition sold out Australia again. They abandoned fibre and instead deployed a copper alternative for $29 billion.
By May 2022 when the Albanese government was elected, the Coalition’s second-rate NBN was $28 billion over budget, nearly double the cost, four years behind schedule, and backflipping to fibre.
In contrast, the Albanese government is delivering its vision for a world class high-speed broadband network.
Over $3 billion in NBN fibre and fixed-wireless upgrades are being delivered on time and on budget. More than 70,000 kilometres of new fibre has been rolled out, and over 2,300 fixed wireless towers have been upgraded.
Demand grows
Australians are taking up fibre upgrades in record numbers, and fault rates and technician visits are coming down. Monthly data usage per household has expanded from around 30 GB per month across seven devices a decade ago to more than 450 GB per month across 22 devices today.
Demand for data is forecast to further expand to 1 TB per month across 40 devices by the end of the decade.
Economic research from Accenture estimates that a faster, higher capacity NBN network will increase Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by $400 billion over the rest of the decade.
And the rollout of the NBN has correlated with downward pressure on the cost of communications in Australia, with an overall 9 per cent decrease in communications prices from 2017-2024, compared to a 22 per cent CPI growth over that time.
Only by keeping the NBN in public ownership can that vision continue to be delivered. And only the Labor government has committed to this vision.
Public support
But it’s not just the government which supports this policy:
- The regions support it. Mayor Ken Anderson from the Flinders Ranges Council said: “I support the Australian Government in keeping the NBN in public ownership. I think it is more than fair to say that privatisation of essential services does no favours for regional South Australia.”
- Consumers support it. Australian Communications Consumer Action Network CEO Carol Bennett said: “Retaining public ownership of this critical public asset will provide the opportunity for continued improvement in the communications services Australians need now and into the future.”
- The workers support it. Shane Murphy, Communication Workers Union national president said: “NBN workers and their families will also breathe a sigh of relief knowing their jobs won’t be on the chopping block because of privatisation.”
- The industry supports it. Optus interim CEO Michael Venter said: “Optus welcomes the Federal Government’s legislation to keep the NBN in public hands. Keeping this critical asset under government ownership is likely to be the best approach for Australian consumers and will also provide a welcome level of ongoing certainty to the sector.”
The Albanese government’s position on the NBN is clear.
In 2021, we made an election commitment to retain the NBN in public ownership; to keep broadband affordable, and to complete building a world-class fibre network.
In 2022, we formalised this commitment in a new Statement of Expectations for the NBN. And we have introduced legislation to enshrine this position in law.
Labor understands the NBN is not just something that earns a rate of return – it is a critical piece of social and economic infrastructure.
Under Labor, the NBN will be affordable, it will be reliable, it will be fast – and it will be safe in public hands.
Michelle Rowland is the Labor Member for Greenway in NSW and Minister for Communications in the Albanese government