21-September-2011
Portfolio Media Releases
Finance Minister Penny Wong needs to explain why she is allowing billions of dollars to be burnt up on the NBN project despite having failed to finalise key performance indicators to benchmark the $50 billion project against.
“The fact the government was unable to provide this information to the Joint Committee on the National Broadband Network last night despite in July undertaking to do so, highlights its level of dysfunction,” Shadow Finance Minister Andrew Robb said.
“This committee was established back at the beginning of March and I can see absolutely no reason why this information couldn’t have been finalised at least six months ago.
“Given this government’s dreadful track record of wasting taxpayers’ money, it beggars belief that Senator Wong has allowed the NBN to get to the stage it is at without having the system in place to progressively measure its success or failure.
“We know NBN Co has been locking in billion dollar contracts right, left and centre over the past 12 months, but now we learn that the government has no idea if these transactions are likely to represent value for money,” Mr Robb said.
“The appalling lack of due diligence surrounding this project began with the government’s stupidity in refusing to subject the NBN to a proper cost-benefit analysis despite the Coalition’s insistence from the very beginning.
“Senator Wong as a shareholder minister of the NBN is clearly failing in her fiduciary duty to taxpayers and needs to provide a full and frank explanation as to why even the most rudimentary checks and balances have not been put in place.
“It is little wonder that so many Australians fear this project will represent the biggest white elephant in this country’s history,” Mr Robb said.