Guy Barnett (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I am very pleased to take note of the answers from Senator Conroy today. Never in my time here in the Senate have I seen such ducking and weaving, such ducking and diving and such obfuscation by this minister from the questions put to him. He simply refused to answer, time and again. He is whimsical and he is happy-go-lucky in his approach and yet he refuses again and again to even address questions which are entirely relevant. We were simply asking for dates and times and who had made a decision but he refused, time and again. It is a very disappointing approach. Never in my time in the Senate have I seen such a display as we saw by Senator Conroy today. It is a great shame.

In terms of the NBN and the roll-out, the government refuse, time and again, to reveal the business plan. They have had it for weeks. A crack team of public servants could easily go through those 400 pages and edit or redact certain parts of it for the purpose of making it public. This is in the public interest. This $43 billion national broadband roll-out is the largest single infrastructure development in Australia’s history. It is bigger than any other project undertaken by a government, ever. They are treating the NBN and the public with contempt. This is fast becoming another pink batts fiasco, in my view. In fact, it is so much larger. It is a pink batts fiasco; it is going to be a schools rorts fiasco—