The Nationals Member for Riverina, Kay Hull, said today that according to an Auditor-General’s Report revealed earlier this week, the total cost of the Labor Government’s failed National Broadband Network Mark I tender process was in excess of $30 million.

Mrs Hull said it is clear from the Australian National Audit Office report into the National Broadband Network Request for Proposal Process that the Rudd Government has inexcusably failed to manage its own process.

For nearly 18 months from December 2007 until April 2009, more than $30 million went down the drain.

After more than two years of Rudd talk the fact is not one new broadband service has been delivered to the Riverina through Labor’s NBN.

The Labor Government cancelled the previous Coalition Government’s OPEL contract which would have delivered new and affordable broadband services to 900,000 under-served households across Australia by the end of last year.

Now after this catastrophic policy failure, the Government is still charging ahead with a $43 billion NBN proposal without any cost-benefit-analysis or business plan.

Mrs Hull said this report should ring alarm bells for Riverina residents about the failure of Rudd Labor to assess risk and ensure value for money.