From ABC Online

Barnaby Joyce: Looking out for the bush. (AAP: Alan Porritt, file photo)

Nationals Senate Leader Barnaby Joyce says his party should look to amend the Government's $43 billion broadband plan, rather than vote against it in the Senate.

Senator Joyce says the $43 billion broadband plan is outrageously expensive, and will not attract enough private investment, but he does expect it will get through the Parliament.

"My first choice of action would be to try and stop it so we don't get ourselves into an outrageous amount of debt but I'll have to be a realist, that is not going to happen," he said.

"The Greens will you know dance around the edges and say yes, and the independents will you know end up saying yes, so it will go through," he said.

He says the trick for the Nationals is to at least negotiate a decent outcome for those in the bush.

"As silly as it is we have to affect it such a way that regional people are looked after," he said.

"If its going to be the expenditure funds that the national party was crucial in putting together then we must maintain some oversight into it and make sure we look after regional people as best we can," he said.

The Coalition is waiting to see the detail of the Goverment's plan before declaring its official position.