The national broadband network has been a financial disaster for Australia, delivering among the highest-costing and lowest-speed internet in the world. It, like many of the so-called big reforms of the past 20 years, will be an economic and productivity albatross around the necks of Australians for generations to come.

Earlier this year, Communications Minister Michelle Rowland announced that the Albanese government would inject a further $3 billion of taxpayer funds into the NBN to “fund the upgrade of Australia’s remaining national fibre-to-the node (FTTN) network”. This $3 billion would supplement $800 million of NBN Co funds to “deliver access to higher internet speeds for around 622,000 additional premises” by 2030.