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

My question is to Senator Coonan, the Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts. I refer the minister to a recent email from Sol Trujillo to Telstra staff, outlining the position of the company on the rollout of fibre to the node. Is the minister aware that Mr Trujillo states that Telstra:

… has a plan in place that reflects negotiations and discussions with the Government that are now complete.

Can the minister confirm that the government has completed negotiations with Telstra on the terms of its FTTN proposal? In light of Mr Trujillo’s email, why should the Australian public believe that the government’s panel of experts on FTTN is anything more than an elaborate rubber stamp for a deal that the minister has already negotiated with Telstra?