Michael Ronaldson (Victoria, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Veterans' Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Mr Temporary Chairman. I again ask for indication from the minister about whether interest was being paid. Then I can make a decision about whether I continue with the questions. But if the minister is not prepared to do that and I have to take another five minutes to answer the question, do not come back to me with any talk about filibustering. If they are not paying cash interest, is an amount being capitalised? Is that going to be included in the total funds contributed by the government or is it, effectively, an interest-free loan? I presume the minister will answer that question when I have finished my contribution or the others have finished their contributions. Minister, are you going to table the terms of the lease which Senator Joyce referred to? What are the terms of the lease? Where is that cost included? Are you going to release the details of those leases?

I mean, this is just absolutely full of holes. In answer to the question raised by Senator Fielding about whether we need a state-of-the-art network, I will quote pieces from an editorial in the Australian the other day:

The unseemly rush to a National Broadband Network says more about the government’s political problems than about adding to national value.

               …            …            …

Labor appears willing to do anything to get the $43 billion network up …

Australians deserve more open discussion on the NBN …

               …            …            …

The NBN is a Rolls-Royce answer to communication needs when a Holden might do just as well.

Who is probably best able to make that sort of assessment? Maybe the Productivity Commission might be a body that can make that sort of judgment and give the government and the parliament some indication about the integrity of what we have been asked to vote on in the next 24 hours.

So why will this government not acknowledge that the Productivity Commission should be involved? Its case was weakened dramatically with the remarkable revelation some 36 hours ago that Greenhill Caliburn are doing a review of the robustness of the 30-year business plan and the company’s corporate plan. If the government itself required Greenhill Caliburn to come in and cross-check the comments and the NBN business case, if they were required to do that, that is an acknowledgement on the part of the government that all is not well with this. The fact that it has called them in to run their finger over this means that the government acknowledges that all is not well. So why not let the Productivity Commission do it properly? Minister, why not let the Productivity Commission, who have all the resources, do an inquiry into this and see what they come back with? If we are proved wrong after the Productivity Commission has reported then we will be proved wrong. But at the moment you are not allowing this parliament to make a proper judgment about a $50 billion noose that you are hanging around the necks of not just this generation—