Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for the Murray Darling Basin) Share this | Hansard source

There it is, isn’t it—we sold it off and now we have to buy it back. That says it all. Senator Conroy is even cringing at that comment. These are your partners in this little adventure, Senator Conroy, you know.

Whilst you may want to see the NBN ultimately privatised and you may believe that is the goal you will eventually reach, we would question whether it is ever going to be worth anywhere near what you are going to spend on it so that when privatised it can provide the taxpayer with any reasonable level of value for money.

All along for the Australian Greens this has been about renationalising telecommunications in this country. That is what Senator Hanson-Young has indicated—it has all been about renationalising telecommunications. They have sold out to the government lock, stock and barrel in the hope of renationalising telecommunications in this country. They have given up on their usual belief that ministers should be accountable to this place.