Jenny McAllister (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Climate Change and Energy) Share this | Hansard source

That's a very good question, Senator Ghosh. I've heard the opposition calling out, interjecting, 'Why is this legislation required?' I can tell you why. It is because those opposite will never pass up an opportunity to privatise critical infrastructure. Privatisation is in their DNA. You can look at their track record on communications infrastructure. First they sold off Telstra and then they made an absolute mess of the NBN. For those in rural and regional Australia, communities that were already separated by distance, the coalition set them up for an enduring disadvantage, subjecting those communities to a second-rate NBN patch-up job. Keeping the NBN in public hands will ensure that that company has the certainty that is necessary for its investment planning and for its operational decisions—the decisions that are needed to maximise the economic and critical social benefits of the NBN. (Time expired)