Abbott also attempted to draw a link between the cost of the NSW and Queensland floods to the Australian economy and the ability of the government to fund the NBN.

“The undoubted substantial costs of responding to the flood disaster in Queensland and now New South Wales call further into question the wisdom of spending $50 billion plus of taxpayers’ money on a National Broadband Network, which can be perfectly well provided in most instances by competition between private sector businesses and I really think that the costs of responding to the flood disaster really emphasise the need to think again on the National Broadband Network,” he said.