Stephen Conroy (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Birmingham for being able to get a question up through the tactics committee. Those opposite profess to care about the rollout of the National Broadband Network. Those opposite have sought at every turn to impede, get in the way of and slow down the rollout of the network. The only threat to the National Broadband Network meeting its rollout targets is those opposite. The policy that they have released will result in nine million Australian homes and businesses being disconnected from Labor's NBN.

I am confident that NBN Co. will reach its revised June fibre forecast for premises passed. As I have said on numerous occasions, the monthly construction updates that NBN Co. posts on its website are provided for information purposes and are intended to be a guide only. They state that quite specifically. I would advise those opposite who have spent their time trolling around looking for every piece of disinformation on the net—and I mentioned this to you in estimates—that there is a very, very good website produced by a 16-year-old kid which provides more information and more research than you have done in your three years of efforts at Senate estimates. He simply sat down and designed it himself. He is 16 years old and he can tell you more about the government's NBN rollout than those opposite. (Time expired)

Senator Heffernan interjecting—