Ian Macdonald (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Northern and Remote Australia) Share this | Hansard source

I am not representing Telstra, Minister. I cannot think when I last spoke to anyone from Telstra—except the committee service, and that is all on the Hansard record. I think my only connection with Telstra is the mobile telephone that the government supplies to me. I think it is with Telstra—yes. That is my connection. I am not here to represent Telstra anyway. There is only one group of people I am here to represent, and that is the taxpayers of Australia. You are interjecting, Minister, and diverting me and taking me back to my lament that we lost the election sort of fair and square in 2007. I cannot say the same for 2010. In 2007 we lost it fair and square. But if we had not lost it, the OPEL contract would have been up and running and supplying a very fast broadband to places like—