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

It was through the chair, I thank you, Madam Acting Deputy President, for noting that. With respect to the collapse of the federal and state governments’ joint venture with Aurora Energy, that has happened. There has been a collapse. It has been abandoned and now that is on the public record. That news, in my view, proves that the rollout is a shambles. There has been no legitimate business plan in the first place in Tasmania and it raises serious questions in my view about the commercial viability of the project in Tasmania. I have been raising these questions about the NBN rollout in Tasmania since its inception but the government has refused to answer the questions.

The minister is sitting here; he could stand up and answer all of the questions that have been put to him and make it clear. He could come clean and put it on the record. We know that the Tasmanian NBN Company was commissioned in August 2009 with much publicity and fanfare. There were lots of newspaper front-page stories and all the media in Tasmania were involved—TV, radio, the whole works. There was a lot of publicity with Premier David Bartlett on the basis of the soon-to-be established joint venture between the federal and state governments and the state owned utility Aurora Energy. That was in August last year, more than a year ago. After more than a year of meetings there has been no progress. In fact not only has there been no progress, it has been canned. The joint venture to roll out the NBN in Tasmania has collapsed. It has been canned.

What we do know based on a company search that I have undertaken is that at least three directors have resigned or not been reappointed. They lasted one year. Guess when they concluded their appointment? Mark Kelleher and Sean Woellner concluded on 21 August. Funny that; it is a familiar date—21 August was the date of the federal election. Daniel Norton, who I respect and admire—as I do Mark Kelleher—ceased on 31 December last year. You have five directors—let me make it clear, based on the last company search—and only one of those directors of the TNBN Co. physically lives in Tasmania. You have Doug Campbell who is from the mainland, Jody Fassina—who I know is a colleague and friend of Senator Conroy—who says that his address is Tolmans Hill in Hobart, but we know that he lives in Sydney—