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

Yes, I can confirm to the Leader of the Opposition that it is the government’s intention that NBN Co. will be privatised. I can confirm to the Leader of the Opposition that we will not be making the same errors that the coalition did when they privatised Telstra. We will not be making those errors where privatisation happened in circumstances where there was no regard for the regulatory settings or the impact of that privatisation—a matter that used to be raised in this parliament by the National Party as much as it was raised by anybody else. I can also confirm to the Leader of the Opposition that the government has always said that the sale of NBN Co. would be subject to full inquiry before it takes place. We have now boosted that with an agreement to have parliamentary consideration prior to that date. I say again: there are many days on which the Leader of the Opposition stands at the dispatch box and rants and raves about parliamentary consideration. I would find it quite remarkable indeed if he was suddenly opposed to parliamentary consideration.

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