The Nationals have done their rural and regional constituent base a huge disservice by supporting a Coalition policy that would dismantle the Government's National Broadband Network. And its Queensland senator Barnaby Joyce knows this better than anyone.

The Gillard Government will take the advice of its KPMG-McKinsey implementation study and roll-out optical fibre in its national broadband network to 93 per cent of Australians – instead of the 90 per cent originally planned.

Agriculture Minister Tony Burke has reversed a decision to allow beef imports from countries previously known to have been affected by BSE – more commonly known as mad cow disease – pending a full risk analysis of the policy.

The first time I met Barnaby Joyce – at a pub near Old Parliament House in early 2005 – he was in Canberra preparing to take up the Queensland Senate seat he secured at the 2004 election.

The telecommunications reform bill is listed for debate in the Senate on Thursday – the last day of the parliamentary sitting year – and despite seemingly impossible time constraints, Government remains confident that it will get to a vote.

The Senate committee investigating controversial regulatory reforms in the telecommunications sector has recommended the legislation be passed without delay, but not before Coalition senators put forward substantial objections in a dissenting report.

The Rudd Government's telecommunications reform package passed through the House today, and will be debated in the Senate next week in what is shaping to the most important the industry has seen in a generation.

The Emissions Trading Scheme legislation isn’t the only issue that’s causing the Coalition parties to take a more critical look the partnership: The Liberals and Nationals are still to sort out how they will approach the National Broadband Network.

If a primary reason for building the $43 billion National Broadband Network was to provide better connections to under-served areas, there was 'no excuse' for not starting the build in regional Australia, NSW Nationals senator Fiona Nash said.