The number of paying customers will be at or better than plan. Revenues will exceed plan. The assessments of our retail service providers and end users are positive and the various technology platforms are operating to specification. The company will meet its targets for the ninth quarter in a row. We will end the financial year with good momentum, connecting homes at record pace, on the way to completing the rollout in 2020 at a peak cash cost of about $49 billion. None of this is new news. The enterprise updates its rollout footprint every week and informs the market of its commercial progress quarterly as required by its shareholder, the government.

It is also subject to vigorous public interrogation by parliamentary committees on a regular basis – its executives appearing before Senate committees for more than 27 hours in 2015 alone. NBN is a company subject to the Corporations Act, the PGPA Act, and the NBN Co Act and is responsible for the creation and security of critical national infrastructure. Management is accountable to a board that takes its responsibilities very seriously. So misinformation about NBN and accusations of underperformance are inexcusable and galling. When dozens of confidential company documents are stolen, this is theft. When they are the basis of media headlines and partisan attacks, they wrongly tarnish our reputation, demoralise our workforce, distract the executive, and raise doubts where there is little basis for concern. The process is a form of political rumourtrage – the circulation of misinformation to diminish an enterprise for political gain. Were we a listed company, such activity would be illegal and the penalties harsh. But, some say, we are a government business enterprise accountable to all Australians and this is true. That's why publications of our progress and the corporate plan reveal more information than most listed companies including forward estimates. Extensive reports are provided to shareholder departments monthly with regular detailed feedback.

While NBN has much commercially sensitive and national-interest material in its possession that must be kept confidential, the organisation accepts a very high level of commentary, and diverse and often expert opinion about our strategy and operations. But information taken out of context for political gain is not in the interest of the public and is corrosive to our culture. Furthermore, the GBE implements government policy and all employees should be working to that end. No employee may decide that they would point and run the enterprise differently and then set about undermining the organisation by leaking various documents in part or whole. One rationalisation has appeared that this theft is the action of whistleblowers. No, it is not. NBN has a well-established process for responding to information from whistleblowers with a notification process managed by an independent third party. None of the matters in the stolen documents have been raised through this channel. And whistleblowing usually emerges from concerns about the legality or morality of actions within a company, or unconscionable behaviour inconsistent with company values. If an employee has strong personal conviction unsupportive of a company's strategy, they can argue their case with management or resign. They cannot give voice to their preferred ideology by passing on stolen documents. Contrary to media commentary, the documents did nothing to highlight poor management of the business. There are no "cost blowouts" or "rollout delays" to the publicly released plans – all one has to do is compare the data that is readily available. The documents show progress updates, options to ensure targets are met and ways to solve problems which are all normal parts of doing good business. It's simply wrong to diminish NBN's performance, because such accusations are not supported in fact.

While the company was duty bound under the law to refer the issue to the authorities, more importantly it was the right thing to do. The fact was that confidential and commercially sensitive information was unlawfully leaving the company, and that this was ongoing over many months. The national broadband network has always been charged with passion and debate, but two things remain constant – we all know we need better broadband and we all believe access to connectivity should be extended to every Australian. Loading We make no apologies for acting in the best interests of the company, its shareholders, and ultimately the Australian taxpayers. Dr Ziggy Switkowski is the chair of NBN Co.