There are too many holes in the Federal Government’s case for its National Broadband Network and the Australian people need honest answers according to the Nationals Senator for New South Wales John Williams.

Speaking on a Matter of Public Importance, Senator Williams said the Government had been content initially with a $4.76 billion fibre-to-the node scheme but suddenly plucked its $43 billion fibre-to-the home scheme out of the air.

He said at no stage has a thorough business case been established for this massive expenditure but the Labor Government just expected the Australian people to trust it.

Senator Williams cited the case of Armidale in northern New South Wales which was a first rollout site, but local residents were less than enthusiastic even when offered this free connection.

“It took pleas through the media by NBN advocates to stimulate interest, which shows people are not lining up to get this supposed “fantastic opportunity”.

The borrowed $43 billion equates to $5,000 per Australian household so it is easy to see why people are reluctant to sign up to something they don’t need but will end up paying heavily for.

The 100 megabytes per second download speed is a luxury that is not needed when 12 megabytes are more than enough for the average home, and as little as 4 megabytes are needed for video teleconferencing. So why pay for a Ferrari when a Commodore will do the job?

The Coalition is doing the right thing in seeking support for a Productivity Commission cost analysis of the NBN and I call on the Labor-aligned independent Member for New England Tony Windsor to support it”, Senator Williams said.