Friday, 9th February 2018, marks the day where the Coalition has been in charge of NBN Co for longer than Labor.

Originally announced by the Rudd Labor Government on 7th April 2009, the NBN Co was under its direction for 1,614 days until the election of the Abbott Coalition Government on 7th September 2013.

As of 9th February, 2018, the Coalition has been in charge of  NBN Co for 1,615 days.

The funding provided to NBN Co is even more dominated by the Coalition than Labor. As of September 2017, the Coalition had provided $22.7 billion while Labor supplied $6.8 billion ¹. As a result the Coalition has provided 77% of funding compared to Labor’s 23%.

Under the Corporate Plan, assuming the Coalition remains responsible for NBN Co until 2020, the proportion will continue to grow to 86% of all funding (see graph below).

Given recent criticisms of the performance of the NBN, it is likely that neither party will want to be held responsible for the NBN. Any write-down of the Australian taxpayers investment is also likely to be bitterly contested by both political parties.

However, the numbers are now quite clear. The Coalition will have been in charge for 60% of the time from the NBN’s initiation to 30th June 2020 and responsible for 86% of the spending.