Senator FIFIELD (Victoria—Manager of Government Business in the Senate, Minister for Communications, Minister for the Arts and Acting Minister for Regional Communications) (14:10): The multitechnology mix is one of the reasons the NBN will be completed by 2020—six to eight years sooner than would have been the case under those opposite. HFC is and will remain an important technology for the NBN. As the CEO of NBN Co has identified, there are some issues that are being addressed, which are readily fixable, to do with interference in terms of spectrum and also to do with some of the joints between the cable in the street and the cable that goes to the premises. These are all very fixable. HFC is a good product— Senator Wong interjecting— The PRESIDENT: Order! Senator Fifield, Senator Macdonald is on his feet on a point of order. Senator Ian Macdonald: I'm sorry to interrupt the minister, but I'm sitting quite close to him. The Leader of the Opposition in the Senate seems to think that she is able to interject consistently and continually, drowning out the minister so that I can't hear. Can you please tell her that she is a senator and is obliged to follow the same rules as every other senator. The PRESIDENT: Thank you, Senator Macdonald. I can rule on this. There was noise coming from multiple places around the chamber. I will again remind senators that at virtually every question time I've been in this chair we've had requests, particularly from the end of the chamber, for senators to be able to hear both questions and answers. I will ask all senators to respect their colleagues and restrain themselves from interjections. Senator Fifield. Senator FIFIELD: As I was about to say, the majority of people in the United States who have broadband receive it over the HFC pay TV cable. The PRESIDENT: Have you concluded, Senator Fifield? On a point of order, Senator O'Neill. Senator O'Neill: There are only eight seconds remaining, and the minister still has not addressed the question I asked him: does the responsibility for the mess of the HFC rollout rest solely in the hands of the Prime Minister? We haven't gone anywhere near that. A government senator interjecting— The PRESIDENT: Order—on my right, on this occasion. An opposition senator interjecting— The PRESIDENT: Now on my left—order! Senator O'Neil, the minister was being directly relevant to the question. I would ask senators, when they raise a point of order on direct relevance, to find more creative ways to bring attention to it rather than simply restating the question, which is not in order. Senator Fifield, in conclusion. Senator FIFIELD: I should indicate that a large number of people in HFC areas on the pre-NBN network can access broadband over the HFC.