Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. How does the Prime Minister justify urging Australians to buy bonds in the $43 billion National Broadband Network, assuring them that those bonds would be a good investment, asserting that the National Broadband Network would be commercially viable and claiming its services will be affordable when the finance minister and, just a moment ago, the Treasurer have admitted that all of those statements were made without any business plan or cost-benefit analysis—in other words, without any reasonable or responsible basis for believing those statements were true?

Andrew Laming (Bowman, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

If he was in business, he would be struck off.

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The member for Bowman is warned.

Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am taken by the ideological obsession of those opposite against a National Broadband Network; I am taken by an ideological obsession which, in coming from the National Party in particular, surprises me, because so many Australians out there lack high-speed and effective broadband services. The government’s policy is clear. The implementation study is underway. We will work with the management of the NBN Co. We will roll this out over time. I am pleased today to confirm the second implementation phase in the state of Tasmania. Our policy is clear. Your policy is split right down the middle when it comes to the future of the National Broadband Network and Telstra.