Following questions from the Liberals, Education Minister Nick McKim has been forced to admit that there isn’t a single school in Tasmania connected to the NBN.

In fact, the closest many students come to the NBN is a single lonely computer lab in Smithton connected to the NBN in December 2010 as a trial.

The NBN is a tremendous opportunity for our communities and our schools, but the Green-Labor Government has completely dropped the ball.  The benefits of being the first part of the country with the NBN are slipping away as the mainland roll-out commences, yet the Green-Labor Government has done nothing.

After all the hype and hyperbole, not even our kids are benefitting from the NBN.

The Education Minister, Nick McKim, must come clean and outline exactly what are his plans for the NBN in our education system.

 Click here to see the information tabled in the Parliament

The Green-Labor Government must explain what it is doing to make sure Tasmania maintains its NBN advantage, following severe criticism from the business community in today’s Australian newspaper.

TCCI Chairman, Troy Harper, said that the opportunity “has been categorically squandered” and that the implementation of the NBN has been a “disaster”.

The Tasmanian Liberals have consistently supported the NBN, because of the infrastructure benefits and because Tasmania would be ahead of the rest of the country. While we recognise the massive policy and costing issues that should be properly debated and justified in Canberra, in our state we have proposed measures to increase the uptake and help the rollout succeed.

But just like so many other infrastructure projects, the Green-Labor Government has completely bungled the roll out and Tasmania could miss out as a result. So far very few people have even connected to the NBN, business opportunities have been missed and the roll out to the rest of Tasmania appears to have stalled, with embarrassed silence as to what happened to the stage 2 rollout scheduled for March 2011.

We only had a small window of opportunity to work within to help Tasmania attract ICT investment before other states caught up. Very soon the NBN will be rolled out across the rest of Australia and it now appears that the window is closing. Even State Government demonstration initiatives have been scrapped and the last remaining program, NBN4Business, has so far made little impact in the community.

The Economic Development Minister, David O’Byrne, must outline what initiatives he has put in place to make sure that Tasmania can attract high-tech businesses here and whether or not they are actually working.

And dare we ask yet again, “where is the NBN Investment Attraction Strategy?”

The Tasmanian Liberals are increasingly concerned about the Labor-Green Government’s ‘do-nothing’ approach to the state’s economy and technology sectors.

I had a briefing with Westpac today and they have told me that they will be closing one of their two call centres in Launceston. There will be no forced redundancies, but they’re expecting to reduce the total call centre employment numbers by about 70 jobs over the next two years through natural attrition. All remaining staff will be moved to the other Launceston call centre – which will be expanded.

I am most pleased that Westpac has made this decision without axing jobs – and by making a new 10 year commitment to the consolidated facility. However, it is still of concern for the Tasmanian economy and especially the north.

The news means that there will now be two empty call centres at the Technopark in Kings Meadows. Telstra vacated its call centre in 2007 and a replacement tenant has not been found.

Where is the NBN investment attraction strategy recommended by the Department of Economic Development but ignored by this government? Where is the economic development plan? Where are the promised jobs and investment as a result of the NBN roll-out?

David Bartlett made pie-in-the-sky promises as the Innovation, Science and Technology Minister, and his constant spin regarding technology, particularly the NBN, include:

• The NBN providing affordable internet to Tasmanians (the NBN business case showed the average cost would be about $80 per month);
• All Tasmanian students attending video lectures from around the world, going on “virtual excursions”, and sharing science experiments online;
• Promising that the NBN would provide speeds in Tasmania of 100 megabits per second, when those connected, including the Circular Head Christian School, are only getting speeds of 30 megabits per second or less – which has to be shared amongst its users;
• Promising that Tasmania would be the most connected place in the world by 2014;
• That his 12 day $100,000 trip to the United States would yield tangible results for the state and executives from Google, Microsoft and CISCO would visit Tasmania before the end of 2010;
• That the NBN would bring about lower power prices.

Instead we see another call centre closing or amalgamating in Launceston, and no doubt David O’Byrne will do little to counteract the negative effect on the economy, as he’s now responsible for delivering on Mr Bartlett’s empty rhetoric.

No doubt the portfolio will slip to the bottom of Mr O’Byrne’s huge portfolio responsibilities and be reabsorbed into the day-to-day operation of the Department of Economic Development.

But without any sign of a plan to move the economy and the jobs market forward, we will find that Tasmania lost the early NBN advantage, and never earn the reputation that Mr Bartlett promised – that of a clever and connected state.

A government brief on the NBN obtained by the Tasmanian Liberals reveals that yet again, the Premier David Bartlett has no idea how important it is to sell promised broadband infrastructure to Tasmanian and interstate businesses.  The document reveals that Economic Development staff recommended that the Labor-Green Government instigate an NBN Investment Attraction Strategy – instead all we have seen is the collapse of the NBN joint venture with Aurora, and several board members pulling out of the NBN Co.

Several questions must be asked of the Premier, who is responsible for the Innovation, Science and Technology portfolio, the chief being why he has ignored key Departmental advice.

What has Mr Bartlett actually delivered with the NBN? Where is the thought-through strategy for attracting investment to Tasmania while the state still has the jump on other states? How many new businesses have come to Tasmania as a result of the NBN investment?

It seems Mr Bartlett has forgotten to do the leg work, and the NBN in Tasmania will mean nothing more than faster downloads if things don’t change.

The early implementation of the NBN in Tasmania is pointless without new content. The State Government must work to attract new investment to Tasmania with the lure of the NBN before every other state gets it as well – otherwise, what was the point of having it first?

The Tasmanian Liberals have always supported better broadband infrastructure, and time and time again we have made positive suggestions to make the NBN work – some of which have been begrudgingly adopted by the State Government.

We’re sick of spin and trumped-up media opportunities for the NBN – Tasmanians deserve to see results in return for the massive build cost.

News that the Tasmanian NBN company (Tas NBN Co) Chairman Doug Campbell has resigned prompts even more questions about the NBN rollout in Tasmania. The NBN joint venture with Aurora has been axed, and now the Tas NBN Co Chairman has apparently jumped from the sinking ship.

With Aurora downgraded from partner to contractor, a massive turnover of directors and policy on the run regarding rollout – it looks like the Tasmanian implementation has been severely undermined by a Premier who is more interested in glamorous predictions than getting it right for Tasmanians.

Who is in control of the NBN rollout in Tasmania? What role is the Tasmanian Government playing? If there is no Tasmanian input then how can we make sure that Tasmania’s interests are at the fore, rather than just the Federal Government’s?

Just this week we’ve seen the Federal Government completely ignore Premier David Bartlett’s requests for assistance for our forestry industry, so who’s to say Canberra won’t ignore the Premier again on the NBN?

The Tasmanian Liberals support improved broadband infrastructure in this state, which is why we are so concerned that Tasmanian interests seem to be poorly represented in the rollout. What a soap opera!