Federal Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has accused Labor of resorting to economic Hansonism with its $43 billion national broadband network (NBN).
Prime Minister Julia Gillard invoked the name of right-wing firebrand Pauline Hanson this week to ridicule the coalition's call to regulate banks.
Mr Abbott returned fire on Thursday, criticising the government-owned NBN as being anti-competitive.
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"The NBN will be surrounded by a thicket of new laws against competition," he told the Alfred Deakin Lecture at the University of Melbourne.
"This is the only economic Hansonism currently on offer."
Mr Abbott described the NBN as a "school hall on steroids", likening it to what the coalition calls the overblown $16 billion Building the Education Revolution program.
Ms Gillard deployed the "Hansonism" term on Monday to accuse the Coalition of jeopardising Australia's economic consensus.
The phrase was used to tarnish shadow treasurer Joe Hockey's calls to regulate banks and opposition finance spokesman Andrew Robb's comments about the wisdom of a floated Australian dollar.
