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OECD broadband rankings: by his own benchmark, Conroy’s broadband policy is failing
The just released OECD broadband penetration statistics ranking Australia 21st out of 34 countries show that Stephen Conroy’s broadband policy is failing, according to the benchmark he repeatedly cited when in Opposition,” Paul Fletcher, Liberal Member for Bradfield, said today.
In 2006 Conroy said Australia’s ranking of 17th out of 30 OECD countries was indicative of the Howard Government’s “complete lack of broadband infrastructure leadership.”
In 2005, Conroy claimed that Australia’s ranking of 21st was an “appalling result” which showed we were a broadband backwater (See detailed quotes below). Conroy continued to run the same argument in the following years despite Australia moving up in the rankings from 21st in 2004 to 14th in 2007.
“Stephen Conroy’s broadband policy has had nearly five years to work. Yet on the very benchmark he consistently highlighted when in Opposition, Australia’s broadband performance has got worse not better,” Mr Fletcher said.
“Conroy has completely reversed his position on what Australia’s broadband ranking shows.
“His press release of 18 July 2012 is headed ‘Latest OECD broadband rankings reinforce the need for the NBN’.
“His press release of 7 December 2010 had a near identical title: ‘Latest OECD Statistics Reinforce the Need for the NBN’. That was after Australia dropped to 18th out of 31 countries.
“A bad – indeed worsening – ranking is apparently no longer an indication of policy failure. According to Conroy, it is a sign that the policy just needs more time to work.
“Conroy is like a medieval doctor applying leeches to a patient, and claiming that if he just keeps doing more of it the patient will get better.”
Note to Editors
The OECD broadband penetration statistics measure the number of fixed line broadband services per 100 people in the country. They are a standardised measure of broadband penetration, used to compare performance across countries.
They are prepared every six months by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in Paris. The latest figures, released on 18 July 2012, are for penetration as at December 2011. They can be viewed by going to www.oecd.org and entering the search term “broadband portal.”
When Labor came to power in 2007, Australia was ranked 16th in the OECD broadband penetration statistics. In 2011 our ranking had fallen to 21st. (Note that during this period the number of countries included rose from 30 to 34.)
The table below contains extracts from several Stephen Conroy press releases – and some commentary.
Date
Australia’s ranking
What Conroy said
So according to Conroy a bad OECD ranking means…
18 July 2012
21st out of 34
Latest OECD broadband rankings reinforce the need for the NBN
You have a good policy, it (still) just needs more time to work
7 December 2010
18th out of 31
Latest OECD Statistics Reinforce the Need for the NBN
You have a good policy, it just needs more time to work
16 October 2006
17th out of 30
“The latest OECD Broadband Statistics (June 2006) show Australia’s ranking in the use of broadband remains mired at 17th out of 30 surveyed countries in the developed world; unchanged from the previous year…Australia needs a nation building investment in broadband infrastructure to bring the country back into line with our international competitors.”
You have a bad policy
25 May 2005
21st out of 30
“Figures released by the OECD yesterday show Australia’s broadband penetration rates falling further behind our international competitors….For Australia to have been ranked 20th in the OECD was a poor state of affairs to begin with, but to actually fall from this position is an appalling result….It is clear that the government’s efforts to date to address the lack of take-up of broadband in Australia have been completely inadequate…This is a terrible result for Australia and an indictment of the government’s policies on broadband.”
You have a bad policy
Copies of the 2005 and 2005 press releases are available here.
