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

Oh my goodness! At least Senator Birmingham knows a little bit more about it than you. It is self-evident that without government involvement Australia will not get the timely rollout of a high-speed national broadband network that is critical to our future economic prosperity into the long term. The government has established a competitive process and offered up to $4.7 billion and the possibility of regulatory change to enable this critical investment to occur. Paragraph (1)(b) of the proposed terms of reference would require the select committee to inquire into and report on the implications of the proposed national broadband network in terms of such issues as cost, consumer choice and competition. (Time expired)