The Age argues in its recent editorial that the decision of the Australian Federal Police to investigate leaks from NBN Co raises questions over the timing, its actions and agreeing to investigate revelations that were palpably in the public interest in the first place.
Documents apparently leaked from inside NBN Co have revealed cost blowouts, delays and inefficiencies in the government's NBN rollout - a rollout that was supposed to be cheaper, faster, and better than the full fibre-to-the-premises model mooted by Labor.
One of these stories reported the Optus cable being relied upon by the "mixed media" model was in such poor repair that that it may need to be replaced. Another said the government faced a $640 million repair bill for Telstra's old copper network.
Yet another revealed the NBN was trialling a Labor-style fibre-to-the-premises roll out, and that it was surprisingly cheap and efficient.
Clearly these stories were embarrassing to the government in general, and the Prime Minister in particular. He was the communications minister who came up with the dog's breakfast NBN Australia is now building, at great expense.
What is astounding is this embarrassment might well have led to a series of raids on operatives of the Labor Party.
But step back from the politics and look at the broader question of public interest. Billions of dollars of our money is being spent to build the NBN.
The form and nature of that infrastructure, the extent to which it will future-proof our economy and society, are matters we should legitimately be told about.
This is a publicly-owned company, sure, but it's a company, governed by the Corporation's Act, and involved in commercial enterprise.
Is it really the AFP's role to investigate leaks from it?
