Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Hansard source

It is all very droll. I know that the Labor Party hates the fact that the Turnbull government is delivering the NBN project, which was a complete mess under Labor. It started under Labor on the back of a beer coaster. I would have liked to have been on that plane with the then Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, and the then communications minister, Stephen Conroy. We all know how much they loved each other. We all know how much they enjoyed sharing a drink together. They would have been sitting there saying, 'What do we do with this beer coaster? Let's write up a plan to build a NBN.' Of course, it was not funded. It was a complete mess.

The former minister for communications went to Darwin five times to launch five connections. For every single connection he took a trip up to Darwin to announce it. So excited was he when he was able to make a little bit of progress. The truth is that under the Turnbull government the NBN is being delivered. It is being delivered at a lower cost, faster and more effectively than it ever would have been under the Labor Party. You are embarrassed by it. (Time expired).