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

I acknowledge that the Leader of the Opposition said he is relying on an assertion from elsewhere, but the assertion in his question is simply untrue. As the NBN summary business case released yesterday makes absolutely clear, the most basic service offering the cost in nominal terms remains the same, which of course means in real dollars it goes down over time, and the pro-competitive impact of structural separation means that costs for service offerings of greater bandwidth will go down over time. All you have to do is accept the proposition that competition is good, that competition makes a difference to price. If you accept that proposition, then of course competition through retail providers on the NBN is good for pricing. When you look at the broader service offerings, we will see reduced costs over time.

I would say to the Leader of the Opposition, how is it that he can explain in this parliament that Australians have one of the most expensive broadband systems in the world, and he thinks that it is not in any need of real reform. The Leader of the Opposition is exposed as a man with a plan to wreck but no plan to build. Despite that negativity, we will build the National Broadband Network; we will deliver to Australians the technology they need today and will need even more in the future.

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