Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for the Murray Darling Basin) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Conroy. I refer the minister to the corrupted Australia Network tender process under his watch. Had the minister received a recommendation of a preferred bidder from the tender evaluation board at any time prior to the government making a decision to end the tender?

Stephen Conroy (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

That goes to the details of the tender. The tender was ongoing, so I am not going to start commenting backwards and forwards about what stage it was up to. The lack of understanding from those opposite—

Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for the Murray Darling Basin) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I rise on a point of order. Yesterday the minister informed the Senate that the tender ceased to have effect on Monday, so the minister is clearly misleading the Senate if he claims it is still ongoing. If it is no longer ongoing, he should be able to inform us of a matter of simple procedure such as whether or not he received a recommended bidder.

John Hogg (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! That is not a point of order. Senator Conroy, you have one minute and 41 seconds remaining.

Stephen Conroy (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I said that it was ongoing during that period. I was not suggesting it was still going. But that refers to the details of the process. The process was an ongoing process before it was terminated and there is not much more I can add to that.

Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for the Murray Darling Basin) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. I refer the minister to his statement to the Senate yesterday:

The government will now consider the full range of options for the awarding of this contract and will make a decision no later than March next year.

Will this be a decision in March on how the government will undertake a new selection process, or a decision on who the ongoing provider of the Australia Network service will be?

Stephen Conroy (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I stand by exactly what I said yesterday.

Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for the Murray Darling Basin) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question. If the minister intends to announce simply how the process will be conducted in March next year, how long will it take to get a successful bidder? If he is only going to announce who the bidder is, will he tell the Senate exactly how that process will be undertaken?

Stephen Conroy (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The good senator is asking me to speculate on and pre-empt the future. I stand by exactly what I said yesterday.

Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for the Murray Darling Basin) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I rise on a point of order. I was very careful to quote what the minister said yesterday—and what the minister said yesterday, for the relevance of his answer, was:

The government will now consider the full range of options for the awarding of this contract and will make a decision no later than March next year.

We are simply trying to get from the minister clarity as to what type of decision it is that he is promising to make by March next year. Referring simply to those words provides no clarity whatsoever.

John Hogg (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I understand that the minister has concluded his answer.

Senator Birmingham interjecting—

Senator Birmingham, you took a point of order.

Honourable senators interjecting—

Order! If you want to argue about it, the time will come very shortly. Senator Birmingham, I hear your point of order, but there is nothing more that I can do about your point of order given that the minister's answer has concluded.

Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask that further questions be placed on the Notice Paper.