They are urging the government to ensure they don't, as fears grow that the Gillard government's post-election pledge of a uniform nationwide price faces a major challenge.
As the government yesterday insisted the National Broadband Network would facilitate its e-health initiatives, the National Rural Health Alliance said it was crucial that the model used for postage stamps -- where a single price was used nationwide -- was applied to the NBN.
The alliance's chairwoman, Jenny May -- who has a general practice in Tamworth, in the New England region of NSW -- said it was crucial that broadband was affordable to all Australians.
The group wants "universal affordability similar to the postage stamp model so that someone who is running a business in Borrona could do it with the same infrastructure cost of someone in Sydney", she said.
Ms May said the group would scrutinise a controversial design element of the NBN proposed by NBN Co, which maintains it is necessary to ensure a uniform national wholesale price that will not disadvantage the bush.
The competition watchdog sent advice to the federal government on the matter yesterday and is expected to recommend against the proposal, sparking concerns about the impact on the uniform wholesale pricing promise.
Julia Gillard promised the uniform national price after securing the support of regional independents Rob Oakeshott and Tony Windsor to form a minority government.
The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission's advice will not be released until it has been considered by federal cabinet.
Experts said yesterday other ways that uniform wholesale pricing could be achieved would include subsidies to regional and rural areas funded from the federal budget or an industry levy.
Optus director of government and corporate affairs Maha Krishnapillai said there was more than one way to achieve the policy outcome of a uniform national wholesale price.
At Coolah, in northwest NSW, general practitioner Tilak Dissanayake said he was concerned about the cost of the NBN.
"They have to recover costs," he said. "The money has to come from somewhere."
He said there were "a lot of burning issues in the bush in terms of health services and more burning than the broadband".
He said skills shortages were the biggest problem, and the NBN was unlikely to change that.
"If I was a city doctor and wanted to come to the bush to work and live, I don't think it would make a difference," he said.
Kathryn Kirkpatrick, who has a practice in Dalby, in Queensland, said that people living in rural and regional Australia would be disadvantaged if the government's promise was not met.
"There needs to be equity. Rural people don't want anything special, they just want equitable services and equitable access to services," she said.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Annabel Hepworth and Mitchell Bingemann
Quelle/Source: National Affairs, 01.12.2010
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