Don't ditch broadband network: minister

The National Broadband Network (NBN) is the single most important infrastructure development in regional NSW for a generation, state Rural Affairs Minister Steve Whan says.

Scrapping the network, as proposed by the federal coalition, would deal a huge blow to rural towns and cities, he said.

The federal government's NBN proposals would provide a "quantum leap" in the ability of businesses to establish themselves in rural communities, Mr Whan said.

"I'm quite shocked by the promise to ditch the NBN," he told reporters outside the NSW Farmers Association annual conference in Sydney on Wednesday.

"Broadband, the optic fibre to regional towns and cities, is probably the single most important infrastructure improvement that our regional towns and cities will see in our lifetimes."

In his speech to conference delegates, Mr Whan said: "Any decision to ditch the NBN should be seen, and will be, as a huge blow to regional NSW and the potential of regional communities for economic development."

Commenting on a report published on Tuesday by Engineers Australia, which gave a scathing assessment of infrastructure in NSW, Mr Whan said there was no doubt more investment was needed in traditional and more modern infrastructure types.

But he hinted that the needed works might require higher taxes.

"We live in a country which enjoys fairly low taxes," he said.

"People may eventually have to make the decision as to, do they want bigger investment ... how do they want to pay for it?"

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