Shorten unveils Labor's NBN plan, Turnbull focuses on saving reef

Labor leader Bill Shorten has hatched a plan to move households connected to the national broadband network through copper to a full fibre-to-the-premises model, while Malcolm Turnbull announced his plan to save the Great Barrier Reef.

Leader of the Opposition Bill Shorten at a press conference after visiting a technology centre as part of the 2016 election campaign in Sydney Source: AAP

Households already connected to the national broadband network through copper could get moved onto the full fibre-to-the-premises model if federal Labor wins the election.

The opposition has vowed to scrap the coalition's "second rate" national broadband network and resume Labor's original plan.

It wants to deliver fibre all the way to an extra two million homes and businesses.

And within the first term of a Shorten government, Infrastructure Australia would be commissioned to investigate how those already connected to the fibre-to-the-node network could be moved over to fibre-to-the-premises.

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten said the coalition's NBN had blown out from $29.5 billion to $56 billion.

Labor says it will spend the same amount of public money on the NBN - putting a $57 billion cap on expenses - but roll out fibre-to-the-premises to more homes and businesses.

"You can't have an innovation boom while you are still buffering," Mr Shorten said.

Labor says the cost of fibre-to-the node has increased from $600 per house to $1600 under the coalition, whereas the cost of fibre was going down.

"If there were gold medals handed out for stuff-ups and blow-outs, Malcolm Turnbull would be on his way to Rio right now," Labor's communications spokesman Jason Clare told reporters in western Sydney, in the marginal Liberal-held seat of Lindsay.

He said a family in Victoria last week told him they were taking their children to McDonald's every night, not for the food but for the wi-fi.

"It's 21st century Australia; Malcolm Turnbull's rolling out 19th century technology," Mr Clare said.

The prime minister dismissed Labor's broadband plan.

"They're going to extend more fibre which obviously means more civil construction, more work, more materials, more digging, more civil work, so hence a lot more cost, and a lot more time, but miraculously, Shortenomics magic works again and it doesn't cost any more," Mr Turnbull told reporters in Townsville.

"They continue to take Australians for mugs."

Turnbull announces reef plan

Malcolm Turnbull used his north Queensland visit to pledge the Clean Energy Finance Corporation would oversee $1 billion over a decade to be spent on projects to improve reef water quality and reduce pollution.

The fund is designed to protect the reef from the "twin threats" of climate change and poor water quality.

It will provide investment finance for projects in the region that can reduce the runoff of fertilisers and sediment and support energy efficient farming.

Mr Turnbull also matched Labor's promise of $100 million for the Townsville Stadium, as part of a broader jobs plan for the region.

Queensland Environment Minister Steven Miles says the Turnbull government's plan to protect the Great Barrier

Reef isn't well targeted.

Mr Miles says the 10 year funding aimed at reducing farming run-off into reef waters doesn't align with the recommendations made in the Reef Water Science Taskforce report.

He's told reporters none of the money is earmarked to go towards the priority projects that the taskforce recommended.