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

I thank the senator for his question and his interest in the National Broadband Network. When NBN Co.'s three-year rollout program was announced in February by the Prime Minister, we said that we would have commenced or completed 758,000 premises by the end of 2012. The member for Wentworth, on Sky News that day, called that an 'extraordinary promise', and he went on to say:

If they can do that, I guess there will be a lot of admiration in terms of construction.

In August the government released NBN Co.'s 2012-15 corporate plan. The plan showed that the capital cost of constructing the National Broadband Network will be $37.4 billion. The plan was informed by the construction contracts that were signed and the firm agreements that were in place. The plan also confirmed the targets announced with the three-year rollout plan, including that construction will be commenced or completed for 3.5 million premises by June 2015.

Around the country—as you yourself know, Mr President—the NBN Co. is actively building a fibre network. Just in the last fortnight, Senator Pratt has been hauling fibre in Geraldton. Senator Thistlethwaite did the same in Coffs Harbour. The members for Oxley, Blair and Petrie have witnessed and pulled the fibre in Aspley and Goodna, in Queensland. To those who keep baying from the opposite side: almost 30,000 by this week and every single day more new customers. (Time expired)