Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

Being relevant to the question I was asked about the National Broadband Network, about this government’s degree of confidence in the network, in the Minister and in our program for change, let me say I believe Australians deserve to have a broadband network that is equal to the challenges of today and tomorrow. I believe Australians deserve to have the jobs of the future rather than to see them exported. I believe Australians deserve to have the benefits of price competition on the network. I believe Australians deserve to have the services innovation we will see from the network.

I would say to the member: I understand that in the lead-up to the election the opposition was politically mispositioned on broadband. It had a policy it was so ashamed of that the Leader of the Opposition would not even bother going to the launch and now it has got its ‘Can Co., Can’t Co.’ policy. But it is time to rise above this political interest, their humiliation in moving policy and just acknowledge they are wrong and it is time to act in the national interest. Acting in the national interest is facilitating the delivery of the National Broadband Network.

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