By his own admission, the previous speaker spoke for 15 minutes about nothing, and I tend to agree with him. I'll just make a couple of observations here, on the National Broadband Network Companies Amendment (Commitment to Public Ownership) Bill. The first is that this bill cannot be an unimportant piece of legislation or just a distraction—they say we shouldn't be interested in it—when it is already so significant that the opposition have made the decision to vote against safeguarding the NBN. It's really up to those opposite to explain what their position is and why they don't want to safeguard the NBN. It is also up to those opposite to explain why, for the issues they profess to care about, such as reducing the cost of living, they are so determined to vote against measures like fee-free TAFE or housing legislation or debt relief for students. I am experiencing a bit of confusion right now, I'll be honest, given the contribution of the previous speaker. It would be really valuable to understand if they think this bill is so unimportant that they are going to dismiss it or if it is so important that they are determined to oppose it and vote against it.

I invite those opposite to work with us to safeguard the NBN and to commit to the cost-of-living relief measures that our government has sensibly put forward. It is really important to show bipartisan support for cost-of-living relief. People and communities across Australia would love to see that. That invitation is an open one to those opposite to support our sensible measures.

The reason this is such an important bill to have before the House is that we know Labor is the party that had the vision to put the NBN forward and to implement a national broadband network for this country. That network would mean that people in our communities could be connected and would have world-class internet access. Unfortunately, we saw that undermined and compromised when the coalition came to power in 2013. That is why we want to make sure that, while we are in government, we take the opportunity to safeguard the very important national asset that is the National Broadband Network.

Unfortunately, we've seen too often the tendency of those opposite to cut and gut public assets. I'm from Victoria, where we still have a long memory of the legacy of Jeff Kennett and what his state government did to our state. Schools closed, and we are now having to reopen public schools right across the state as a result of the fact that they did not respect and did not treat with due regard the public sector and public assets like schools, like hospitals and like so many other important public services. We know, unfortunately, that it does seem to be in the DNA of those opposite to cut public services and to privatise the assets and utilities that are probably best served by being in public hands. That's why we're putting forward this bill today—to amend the National Broadband Network Companies Act 2011 to ensure ongoing public ownership of the NBN. This bill is going to make it really clear to Australian people that we have a deep, deep commitment to the ongoing sustainability and efficiency of the NBN and we want to keep it in public hands. We've supported strong regulatory oversight already, and we've already settled a special access undertaking with the ACCC to cap wholesale prices. We're really worried about what those opposite might do if they ever—and I'm worried about this—got access to this side of the House and sat on these benches because we know that not only do they like to reduce services and cut costs in ways that have detrimental effects on our communities but they also like to sell off public assets.

We are absolutely committed to keeping the NBN in public hands. We are incorporating new wording into the existing act to make clear that the preservation of the NBN in public ownership is an explicit requirement, removing provisions in the act relating to the NBN Co sale scheme. We strongly believe that the NBN needs to stay in full government ownership to support the ongoing upgrade of the network and ensure ongoing regulatory oversight of NBN wholesale pricing, keeping broadband affordable for all Australians. We know how important the NBN is for connectivity. I think most of us could not imagine our lives without being online and being able to have easy and affordable access to the internet. It is vital for all parts of our lives, whether it be work, whether it be education, whether it be leisure or whether it be keeping in contact with loved ones. So we know that we need to be a responsible government and safeguard and protect this important public asset. We made our commitment clear in the updated statement of expectations in 2022 that the NBN needs to stay in government hands.

Government ownership is essential to deliver the strategy for a more connected Australia, including rolling out more fibre in the fixed line network, planning for the transition to next-generation satellites and modernising universal service obligations. I think the other thing that's really important to understand and remember here is that the internet and the NBN are evolving all the time as technology evolves, and so it will be best delivered through government where we're able to have that flexibility and those obligations for services to our communities to upgrade the system appropriately. This is crucial national infrastructure with cybersecurity and national security imperatives too, which absolutely—and I'd hope that both sides of the House can agree on this—require strong government oversight to ensure that we protect national and cybersecurity requirements. This is best delivered through ongoing government ownership. Any future sale of the NBN would likely involve foreign ownership, which raises potentially serious national sovereignty and security risks, and I'd urge those opposite to be mindful of those.

The former coalition government had taken the initial legislative steps to prepare the NBN for sale, which is quite worrying, especially in the context of what I've just described in relation to national security, including declaring the network built and fully operational in 2020. The coalition also supported an NBN submission to increase wholesale prices on their core product by three per cent and to bolster their income streams in preparation for sale. This was ultimately rejected by Labor and rejected by the ACCC. I mentioned earlier the memory of some of us—and my memories in Victoria—in terms of coalition governments selling off public assets. Of course, who can forget the sale of Telstra under the Howard government? This is a prime example of the coalition making promises on prices and services for telecommunications that were not delivered. The sale of Telstra also deprived the government of leverage to roll out fibre broadband in Australia, necessitating the Rudd government's establishment of the NBN in the first place.

Our government has been consulting on regional telecommunications services and has received feedback from communities, particularly in rural and regional Australia, that there is strong support for the NBN network to stay in government ownership. We know that keeping the NBN in public ownership is absolutely essential to continue to provide modern, accessible and affordable communication services for all Australians, no matter where they live.

I would hope that those opposite can recognise the importance of giving the public assurances about the future of the NBN. I hope that those opposite can recognise the importance in relation to cybersecurity and national security of ensuring the NBN remains in government hands. I'm really pleased to commend the bill to the House.