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

I say quite genuinely, Senator Minchin, that there is genuine worldwide interest in what we are doing, and a number of countries have spoken to me about our broadband project, our regulations and our changes. I can tell you that there is genuine interest around the world.

There was one other issue that was concerning the crossbenchers and I want to make sure I address it. I want to assure senators that the reports to the government contain extensive commercially sensitive information provided by the NBN proponents on the understanding that it would be kept confidential. A disclosure of that information might discourage future participation in government tender processes. The report of the panel of experts contains detailed descriptions of the proposals received and a detailed assessment of each of the three national proposals against the evaluation criteria. It includes references to funding required to deliver on the proposal, proposed structure and financing arrangements, ownership, commercial feasibility and financial models, technical capability, pricing and business strategy. Release of the commercially sensitive information by the government would cause proponents commercial harm. Proponents involved in the tender process have confirmed that release of the parts of the panel’s reports to government that reveal and discuss their proposal would cause them commercial harm. The release of such information would be particularly harmful in the current environment where a range of parties are entering into commercial discussions on how they wish to participate in the NBN.

The National Broadband Network request for proposals was a robust process conducted in accordance with the requirements of the RFP and the Commonwealth procurement guidelines. The government’s decision to terminate the NBN RFP process was on the advice of the panel of experts that none of the proposals offered value for money. I am confident that the process has been run to a high standard and in accordance with the relevant guidelines. I also note that after the Senate order came into effect the Auditor-General announced that the Australian National Audit Office would conduct an inquiry into the RFP process. The government welcomed the Auditor-General’s announcement that the ANAO would conduct a performance audit of the National Broadband Network RFP process. The audit commenced in late June 2009 and will be completed in the coming months. I am afraid the Auditor-General’s office have not told me when they are going to finish, so I cannot pass on the information.

I want it to be clear that there are genuine commercial reasons why we cannot comply with the order to the extent that is being requested. The explanatory memorandum of this bill and the second reading speech given in the other place talked about the NBN in the context that, once it is rolled out as a wholesale-only network, it will fundamentally transform the competitive dynamics of the telco sector. Both of these documents acknowledge that this historic nation-building investment will help transform the Australian economy and create the jobs and the businesses that we need to succeed in the 21st century. So I urge the Senate to support this motion. It is not an attempt to subvert the will of the previous motion, as I think Senator Minchin would even acknowledge. The interpretation placed was a broad-ranging interpretation. I do not believe that resolution ever intended to capture this bill, so I seek the support of all senators in voting to bring on this bill.