Nick Minchin (SA, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

I ask the minister if he has seen a recent article by the respected Alan Kohler speculating that wireless broadband could be faster than fibre optic within two years. Has the minister sought any advice from his department on these forecasts and how they impact on his national broadband network? In particular, has the minister sought advice on Mr Kohler’s conclusion that the losing bidder for the national broadband network could simply build a rival wireless broadband network and, in Mr Kohler’s words: ‘destroy the economics of the fibre-to-the-node network’? Finally, could the minister make an attempt at crafting an answer that has at some least some relevance to the question?