Curran Clare: Oral Questions — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeCurran Clare: Oral Questions — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 22 October 2015. Volume:709;Page:7510. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]10.CLARE CURRAN (Labour—Dunedin South) to the Minister for Communications: Is she confident that her Government’s $300 million investment in the rural broadband scheme has been spent appropriately and effectively?Hon AMY ADAMS (Minister for Communications): Yes I am because it is on time and on budget it has seen a twentyfold increase in internet speeds for many rural users it is part of improving broadband for 97.8 percent of New Zealanders and it is delivering significantly better cellphone coverage across rural and provincial New Zealand. There is more to do but the Rural Broadband Initiative represents an incredibly big improvement from the appallingly low base we inherited in 2008.Clare Curran: Does she think that having a 55-kilometre fibre cable from Wairoa to Tūai that has one connection is delivering more connectivity to rural and regional New Zealand?Hon AMY ADAMS: The fibre funded under the Rural Broadband Initiative is funded to provide backhaul to subsites. The Rural Broadband Initiative coverage is provided through fibring towers which then provide fixed wireless services and then the Rural Broadband Initiative fibres cabinets that then provide enhanced ADSL. If that member understood her spokesmanship portfolio she—Mr SPEAKER: Order! [Interruption] Order!Clare Curran: Why should Genesis Energy get a 55-kilometre cable for its own purpose when nearby Tūai school cannot even get a connection to broadband?Hon AMY ADAMS: I can tell that member that all New Zealand schools are going to receive fibre broadband—except for our most remote which have a different sort of broadband programme. All our schools will receive broadband coverage. Otherwise the rural broadband programme comprises two components: enhancing copper coverage and fixed wireless componentry to schools businesses hospitals households and libraries across rural New Zealand. It is a huge step forward from what we inherited in 2008 when the average connection was 0.2 megabits a second.Jami-Lee Ross: What reports has the Minister seen that demonstrate the success of the Rural Broadband Initiative programme?Hon AMY ADAMS: I have seen the latest TrueNet testing report which shows that Rural Broadband Initiative broadband is 57 percent faster than standard ADSL and that Rural Broadband Initiative fixed wireless is more than 53 percent faster. Also I have seen OECD reports that New Zealand has gone from being below the OECD average for broadband in 2008 to now being more than 12 percent above. I have seen reports that tell us that under Labour 41 percent of connections in rural areas were getting speeds of less than 0.2 megabits. That is now going up to 90 percent of rural connections having 5 megabits or more. It is a tremendous step forward from what we inherited.Clare Curran: What is the point of a 55-kilometre fibre cable to nowhere when the local mayor whose farm is just 75 metres from the cable was told that it would cost him $18000 just to connect to his gate?Hon AMY ADAMS: The Rural Broadband Initiative programme has never been designed to provide a Fibre to the Home service. That is the ultra-fast broadband programme. Fibre under the Rural Broadband Initiative is large-scale backhaul which funds subsites. That member clearly does not understand the role of fibre under the Rural Broadband Initiative.Clare Curran: If she is satisfied with the management of the Rural Broadband Initiative why has she sacked the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment from managing rural connectivity after 5 years?Hon AMY ADAMS: If that member had ever been in Government she would know that Ministers do not sack ministries actually. I can tell the member that it was the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment that suggested that for the next phase it makes sense as we move into the less populated areas of New Zealand and as the fibre programme is going to rural New Zealand to have a coordinated programme across the UFB2 and the Rural Broadband Initiative 2 to have one set of relationships with the telecommunications companies and to best use our contracting experience.Mr SPEAKER: Bring the answer to a conclusion.Hon AMY ADAMS: It only makes sense.Clare Curran: I seek leave to table two documents. The first is dated September 2015. It is the Wairoa District Council’s digital enablement plan—two pages.Mr SPEAKER: And the second document?Clare Curran: The second document is a speech delivered yesterday by the Minister which is not online—Mr SPEAKER: Order!Clare Curran: It is not available online; it is not available anywhere.Mr SPEAKER: I will put the leave accepting the word of—[Interruption] I will accept the member’s word. Leave is sought to table a Wairoa District Council document and a speech delivered by the Minister. Is there any objection to those two documents being tabled in this House? There is none. They can be tabled.Documents by leave laid on the Table of the House.Tracey Martin: Kia ora. How can the Minister say that she is confident when Northlanders such as Matt Watson of the ITM Fishing Show are struggling to run their award-winning New Zealand businesses from towns such as Kerikeri where there is snails-pace slow unreliable rural broadband that has dropped to speeds of 0.07 megabits per second?Hon AMY ADAMS: I can give that member two aspects of that. The first is that Kerikeri is one of the towns that are in line to get a Fibre to the Home programme under this Government under the next tranche. Having rolled it out to 75 percent of New Zealand we want to go further. The second is that if that is the speed that the member quotes that that business is receiving it should absolutely advise us because that will not be a speed delivered under the Rural Broadband Initiative programme. I can assure it of that and I am sure that we can provide it with a better alternative.