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

Given that the opposition—the then government—had 18 failed broadband plans, it is a bit rich for you, or any of your colleagues, to be coming in here and talking about Australia’s broadband performance in the never-never. We are so far down the international rankings that we are a joke. People who visit this country from overseas think that our broadband performance is embarrassing. This was all presided over by those opposite, because they just did not understand the revolution that is taking place around the rest of the world—the revolution in the way that we will be educating our young, the revolution in the way we will be gathering information, and the revolution in the way that we will be teaching. Let’s be clear about this: being lectured by the opposition about broadband in the never-never when after 11½ years they had 18 failed plans is just a little rich. (Time expired)