A move by the government to safeguard NBN Co against privatisation has been mocked by the opposition as a clumsy attempt at wedge politics, and questioned by experts who argue it would be difficult to find a buyer.

In what the opposition believes is an attempt to rekindle the 2016 “Mediscare” campaign that almost cost Malcolm Turnbull government, the Albanese government introduced a bill to parliament on Wednesday that would prevent the national broadband network (NBN) from ever being sold.