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

My question is to Senator Coonan, the Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts. Will the minister confirm that the contract with OPEL for $958 million of taxpayers’ money has been signed and, despite the fact that she cannot reveal the technical specifications of the network, including where the 1,316 new towers will be built, how the OPEL network will reach 99 per cent of Australians? What will the minimum broadband speeds be, what will the maximum retail price be and how much money is OPEL contributing? How can the minister award one of the largest single government grants to a private company in Australia’s history without being able to reveal the most basic requirements of the agreement?