Mitch Fifield (Victoria, Liberal Party, Manager of Government Business in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Urquhart for the question. Obviously, I cannot comment in relation to a particular business or premises, but I should make the point, as I did earlier in answer to a question from Senator Georgiou, that the NBN was a failed project under our predecessors where barely 50,000 people nationwide had an active NBN service; contractors had downed tools in four states; and the best part of $6 billion had been spent over four years for that suboptimal outcome. Since that time—because of the good work that my predecessor did in this portfolio—the NBN will very shortly, by 30 June, be available to 50 per cent of Australians.

The NBN is going to be complete by 2020—and that is a good six to eight years sooner than would have been the case under those opposite and at about $30 billion less cost. One of the main reasons why that is the case is that this government has given the mandate to NBN for a multitechnology mix. That means that the NBN has the capacity to choose the technology that makes sense in a given area that will see the NBN rolled out fastest and at the lowest cost.

The NBN is one of the great corporate turnaround stories in Australia compared to what it was when we inherited it. There are a range of options available to NBN customers. There are a range of speed tiers available from the retail service providers. (Time expired).