Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Minister for Communications) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for his question. As at the date of the election, $6½ billion had been borrowed by the Commonwealth and put into the NBN to deliver a service to less than three per cent. The project was less than three per cent complete. The Labor Party's approach to the NBN is all on the same level as its approach to the budget—denial of reality. At the time they lost office, they said that this project was on time and on budget. Every single forecast, every single target had been missed. It was running way behind time, way behind forecast and way over budget. The strategic review which was published in December, an independent piece of work, demonstrated that the Labor NBN, had they been allowed to continue, would have cost peak funding and the total amount it would have cost, the most money—$73 billion. That was a hit on the taxpayer. That is all money that had to be provided or serviced or guaranteed in some way by the taxpayer.

See this speech in context