Paul Fletcher (Bradfield, Liberal Party, Minister for Territories, Local Government and Major Projects) Share this | Hansard source

I will tell the shadow minister what we take responsibility for. What we take responsibility for is delivering the NBN. What we take responsibility for is 1.775 million premises which are now able to connect to the NBN after the pathetic, hopeless and desperately incompetent legacy that we inherited from Labor, where barely 300,000 premises could connect.

The shadow minister seems to think that it is some kind of smoking gun that NBN works through contingencies and monitors progress against its target. Based upon my experience working in a large telecommunication company—an experience shared by the Prime Minister, with his experience as one of the leading investors in telecommunications in this country, and by many of the people on this side of the House who have serious business experience and know about what it takes to deliver a project, as opposed to making grand and empty promises—I will tell you what you do when you are serious about delivering a project. You constantly monitor your performance. You constantly look at contingencies. You constantly say, 'How are we doing?' And I will tell you how the NBN is doing: we are getting on with rolling out this network. We are already in a position where 1.775 million premises around the country are able to connect, and the rollout is continuing under a capable, competent, experienced board and management team—none of which existed when this government came to power. We are on the job. The NBN is getting the network rolled out. We stand by it, and we are proud of it.

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