Barnaby Joyce (Queensland, National Party, Leader of The Nationals in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

You know full well that the Australian people are awake to you and that you do not know the details. You are taking us on a frolic. It is not you who are going to have to pay back the money; you are going to force this on the Australian people—that they must repay it. You cannot even coordinate the discussions between your minister in the other place and your minister here. They both have completely different views about how the legislation before the House relates to the NBN. It is good to see Senator Conroy joining us today. He told us this morning that they have no relationship, but that is not what Minister Albanese said. This mass confusion, which is the Labor Party, is unfortunately the reason that they are actually in government. This is the reason that they are here—because they sold the pup that the NBN was a great idea.

Now when the time comes to stand behind their decision, for honesty and transparency, to have it examined by an independent party, they are doing everything in their power to try to remove that opportunity. They will not stand the test of transparency. They want to live in the shadows of this mischievous half-light where they say to us, as they always do, ‘In many moons time, we will tell you the truth.’ Well, the time to tell the truth is now.