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

Yes, inflation is high, Senator Williams. We are now up to $55 billion and rising by the hour. Senator Lundy certainly would not have fallen for that trick, Senator Birmingham. But one knows that this government does not always appoint its personnel on the basis of merit. But I am distracted.

I will ask the minister another question. Because he will not answer, I assume that what I have said is correct—that the developer of a greenfield site can either get NBN Co. to do it to for nothing or can pay a contractor to do the same job at the cost of the greenfield developer. Minister, can you, even with your minimal knowledge of business, explain to me why any greenfield developer would then engage a private contractor to install the infrastructure in a greenfield site, when he could get NBN Co. to do it for free? Why would any greenfield developer get a private contractor to do it?