Barnaby Joyce (Queensland, National Party, Leader of The Nationals in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

Yes, Robert. Why is this such an issue? Because we apparently have this complete change in process of where we are on this piece of legislation as a result of this motion. Isn’t this funding amazing? I quote:

NBN Co’s funding requirement is driven by the Company’s earning before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA)—

that is remarkable—

and Capex profiles, including working capital.

If you just went with the acronym, you could put it almost in a line—for $27.1 billion of borrowings. That is what we are going to get. We might be going to borrow more because on the next line we talk about the equity requirements:

This is based on advice from Goldman Sachs that NBN Co should be able to arrange debt funding.

That is it. That is where it stops. These are motherhood statements. This is year 9 economics. This is a cover-up. This is a total and utter cover-up and our job in this place is to ventilate this issue for the Australian people. It will be interesting today to see who actually has a genuine desire for the ventilation of this issue because the people who have to pay this money back have that right.

The Labor Party have all been up here talking to Dr Robert Brown, Senator for Tasmania, then going back, organising times and saying when they think we should be out of here by. It is all a set-up. The Australian people are being set up. The Australian people are having a snow job done on them. It is all right if you do not pretend to be as pure as the driven snow, but they do. They are all part of this process and they are going to do you over today, Australia. They are going to let you down. They are going to hide, they are going to prevaricate and they are going to guillotine. This crowd are not good for their word. They are not transparent. They are not the arbiters of light. There is no light in this. This is all tinea. That is we are getting in this show. There is no light in this place. This is what we get.