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Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull.Credit:The Age

Mr Turnbull was speaking at an Anzac Day lunch event in New York,wherehe plans to spend the remainder of the Australian election campaign.

In his speech Mr Turnbull focussed on his government's world-first decision to formally block Huawei from Australia's 5G rollout on national security grounds.

Mr Turnbull said it was a colossal failure that only four companies supply 5G equipment and services,two from China and two from Scandinavia.

None of the companies at the forefront of 5G development belong to the "Five Eyes" intelligence community comprised of the US,UK,Australia,Canada and New Zealand.

One of Malcolm Turnbull's last acts as prime minister was barring Chinese telco Huawei from Australia's 5G network.Credit:Bloomberg

"There is no doubt Western nations have been out-competed,"Mr Turnbull said.

"It is frankly absurd that in this,arguably the most important enabling technology of our time,the United States and its closest allies are not leading players,"Mr Turnbull said.

The Huawei ban was one of the last acts Mr Turnbull took before he was removed from the prime ministership.

"Ferocious competition from the Chinese vendors on price and an absence of mind in Washington and other Five Eyes capitals - including Canberra - has got us to the position where,when network security is more important than ever,there is not one 5G vendor from the United States or its Five Eyes allies,"Mr Turnbull said.

The threat of a hostile foreign power interfering with another nation's 5G network is so serious that companies like Huawei must be completely blocked from the rollout,he said.

Mr Turnbull said he had discussed the issue with US President Donald Trump and other administration officials"on several occasions and in considerable detail".

"I encouraged the President to take the lead and ensure we had at least one viable and secure 5G vendor from the United States and its Five Eyes partners,"he said.

"That's why I was so pleased to see President Trump announce earlier this month that 5G is a priority for his government to ensure that US companies got up to speed."

Earlier this year Mr Trump tweeted:"I want 5G,and even 6G,technology in the United States as soon as possible.

"There is no reason that we should be lagging behind on something that is so obviously the future".

It was revealed this week thatUK Prime Minister Theresa May would allow Huawei to help build Britain's new 5G network despite warnings from the US and senior cabinet ministers that it poses a risk to national security.

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