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

Perhaps if you chose to read the RFP, Senator Macdonald, you would not need to make a moronic interjection. It is up to the panel to consider all the proposals received. Its consideration will be informed by legal advice. The panel will consider all of the proposals received under the government’s NBN process. In its consideration of proposals the panel will take into account a number of factors as set out in the RFP. I again invite those opposite to actually read the RFP, so you can gain some understanding—as opposed to the ill-informed comment that those opposite have continued to make. Read the RFP and understand what the minimum legal obligations to comply with the documents are.

The panel will inform me at key stages in its process as decisions or recommendations are made. I will not be having day-to-day discussions with the panel about its progress. I will not be providing a running commentary on the evaluation process. Nor am I in a position to speculate on the panel’s decision making. I am aware that some proponents have discussed the potential to take legal action depending on the outcome of the panel’s review of the proposals— (Time expired)