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

I will respond briefly to Senator Williams’ comments: that is the government’s objective; that is what we are working towards. I think Senator Birmingham, who has followed these issues for quite a period of time, acknowledged that Mr Andy Townend, who designed the program in the UK, is now designing ours. If you look at the success of the program so far in the UK, you will see that, if we follow through on all the things that we are talking about, we will deliver that outcome. That is what we intend to deliver. I cannot be clearer than that. That is what we intend to deliver.

Senator Williams, if the opposition amendments remove one of the key struts, which is that we cannot deliver this by ourselves—more than their cooperation, we need the active support and desire of the free-to-air networks to come on board—you will actively undermine the very thing you say that you are concerned about. Senator Minchin correctly identified that human nature is human nature. If you give people an economic incentive to go slow, they will go slow. What these amendments do is give them the incentive to go slow. You will be responsible for undermining the programs that we are going to continue to roll out, to deliver and to guarantee. You will be undermining that guarantee if you succeed with your amendments.