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

Oh, Senator Abetz let the cat out of the bag! What has he got to hide? What is wrong with the business case? Just as with McKinsey’s report, you are going to be left with egg on your faces, because the business case verifies, confirms and reinforces the McKinsey case study, which said that the NBN is financially viable and delivers cheap and affordable broadband to all Australians. That is what the business case says. It is a 400-page document, and Senator Abetz wants to carry on, saying, ‘Oh, Senator Conroy is claiming it is not.’ What I was laughing about was his use of the word ‘only’, because only a fool could try and suggest that a business case for a $43 billion cost envelope is an ‘only’ document. This is a substantive document. I have already had a three-hour briefing on it, and I am getting a four-hour briefing on it again tomorrow, because it is a substantive document that deserves substantive consideration. Then, funnily enough, the cabinet would like to be briefed on it as well. So it is not only 400 pages; this is a substantive document. It is 400 pages of complex, important information that needs to be properly considered. It is not unreasonable of the government to say that the cabinet of Australia would like to consider it before we release it.