NBN chairman misfires on valuation of the NBN

24 October 2018

Last night at Senate Estimates, in a concerning departure from reality, the NBNCo Chairman claimed the NBN could be sold for $50 billion, despite the damage inflicted by the Liberals’ multi-technology mess.
 
The Chairman stated:
           
“I could certainly generate - and do generate - figures around $50 billion for the value of this company in the early 2020s.”
 
This estimate is at odds with analysis by auditing firm PwC, who in 2016 estimated a value of $27 billion.
 
Standard & Poor’s have also issued a scathing assessment, saying a write down of the multi-technology mix “appears inevitable”.
 
Given the significant difference of opinion, Labor calls on the NBNCo Chairman to provide evidence or analysis to support his claim.
 
If he cannot, he should withdraw or correct the statement.
 
As it stands, the Liberals’ multi-technology mix is $22 billion over budget and four years behind schedule.
 
No amount of wishful thinking can undo this fact.