Stephen Conroy (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

Let us be clear: if you actually got outside of Collins Street, Senator McGauran, you would discover that the proposal that both Telstra and G9 are putting forward is not one that would reach you anywhere out of Melbourne’s CBD. It will not reach you; it is not a national network.

Last year, Labor said that this is the context for the minister’s behind-closed-doors discussions with Telstra. For the minister to even open the door to Telstra, she has to perform a whole procession of broadband backflips. Labor support some of these backflips. We have been arguing for some time that the government must show leadership to facilitate the rollout of a FTTN network, but Labor’s position on FTTN is public knowledge. (Time expired)