news The Coalition has produced a controversial political pamphlet slamming, among other issues associated with “Labor’s mess”, the previous Government’s move to go ahead with its National Broadband Network project without a cost/benefit analysis, just weeks after Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull announced the Coalition would do the same.
In Opposition, one of the central criticisms which Turnbull levelled at the then-Labor Federal Government was that it had initiated its popular NBN project without conducting a cost/benefit analysis into the project’s fundamental underpinnings. Such cost/benefit analyses are commonly conducted by government agency Infrastructure Australia.
The Coalition’s broadband policy document released in April 2013 (PDF) states regarding Labor’s NBN project: “NBN Co was created as a taxpayer-owned monopoly with a mandate to replace Telstra’s copper with fibre (and achieve a competition policy objective: the separation of Telstra’s network from its retail business). This decision was made in haste with scarcely any analysis of alternative options and with no attempt to measure its costs or benefits. ”
It further adds: “Labor’s re-establishment of a public monopoly in a crucial sector of the economy, and its archaic refusal to weigh options, costs and benefits, or seek genuinely expert advice, demonstrate disdain for the proven policy principles of the past 30 years.”
To address this problem, in mid-December Turnbull appointed a panel of experts, to be led by Michael Vertigan, a senior top-level Tasmanian businessman and executive who has also served as the secretary of the Department of Premier and Cabinet, as well as having an involvement with a number of other Tasmanian initiatives.
The panel is to conduct what Turnbull described as an “independent” costs/benefit analysis and review of regulation associated with the NBN. The analysis will analyse the economic and social costs and benefits (including both direct and indirect effects) arising from the availability of broadband of differing properties via various technologies, and to make recommendations on the role of Government support and a number of other longer-term industry matters. It is expected to be handed down in mid-2014.
However, in a speech delivered to the CommsDay Summit in Sydney last month (and available online), Turnbull revealed he and fellow NBN shareholder minister, Finance Minister Mathias Cormann, had already given NBN Co the go ahead to significantly modify its broadband rollout plan, without awaiting the findings of the review.
The move caused extensive criticism from Australian technology commentators.
“It’s one thing to change the NBN, as Turnbull has made no bones about promising he would do. But when a Minister who was basically elected into his current position by his strong and unwavering call for better governance decides that those governance rules simply no longer apply to him because it’s inconvenient – this is cause for concern,” wrote David Braue for the ABC.
And ZDNet editor Chris Duckett added: “Any promises that NBN Co would be run in a more transparent, business-like fashion can now be laughed off as empty promises that took just over half a year to be broken.”
Turnbull subsequently denied there was any hypocrisy in the Coalition Government not waiting for the same kind of cost/benefit analysis to be conducted into its broadband policy that it demanded from the previous Labor administration, accusing his critics of being ‘stuck in a Labor mindset’ and adding that the Coalition’s version of the NBN could be modified once the Vertigan review was complete.
This week Cormann announced the Coalition had published a 64 page Liberal Party booklet entitled “Labor’s mess” which claimed to detail ‘the legacy that Australians have been left by Labor’. The document, available online in PDF format, contains several pages of detail on the Coalition’s view of Labor’s NBN project. It states:
“After dumping their 2007 election commitment to deliver a broadband network for $4.7 billion, Labor then proposed a $43 billion National Broadband Network (NBN) without a cost- benefit analysis …This is the largest and riskiest infrastructure project in Australia’s history, embarked upon without any cost-benefit analysis.”
The report also quotes from the Productivity Commission’s March 2014 Draft Report into Public Infrastructure, in which the Commission states: “There are many examples in Australia of inadequate project selection leading to costly outcomes for some users and taxpayers in general … an Australian Government example is the decision by the previous Government to proceed with the National Broadband Network without doing a thorough analysis of its costs and benefits. The need for a comprehensive overhaul of poor processes in the development and assessment of infrastructure investments is the key message of this draft report.”
The Coalition has not followed this advice from the Productivity Commission in its own approach to the NBN project.
The document contains a number of other questionable claims. For example, it claims that an independent analysis of the NBN project found it would cost $73 billion to complete — “some $29 billion more than the Labor Government’s forecast”.
This figure is drawn from the Strategic Review NBN Co and a bevy of consulting firms conducted in late 2013, following the September Federal Election. While the review did find that Labor’s version of the NBN would cost $73 billion to complete if it progressed unmodified, it also found that that number could be cut down to $54 billion if the project was reworked and if the Government supplied all of the capital, which it is able to do. This detail can be found in the table below, taken from page 17 of the document.
The report also found that in almost every scenario, NBN Co would actually make a modest return on the Government’s investment in the project, ranging from 1.7 percent to 5.3 percent. This means that the Coalition’s rival multi-technology policy would make slightly more money than Labor’s Fibre to the Premises option — but neither will, in the long-run, cost the Government anything. The money will be recouped through monthly broadband subscriber fees.
The document also states: “Because of these cost overruns, Labor’s NBN was going to add $43 per month to a typical household’s broadband bill.” However, there is no evidence of such increased costs, with current retail prices on the NBN infrastructure being directly comparable to those on existing ADSL broadband networks, but with significantly enhanced services. In addition, NBN Co has committed to locking in its wholesale prices at the current level for five years, and limiting future increases to less than the rate of inflation for 30 years.
The document does make a number of more accurate claims — such as the fact that the project has passed only several hundred thousand premises with its fibre infrastructure and the fact that as a whole, the project is significantly delayed. In addition, it accurately points out that a report delivered yesterday by NBN Co found the company’s planned satellite and wireless infrastructure would need to be substantially expanded to meet demand — but within NBN Co’s current capital funding envelope.
The news comes as Turnbull has personally made several statements in public recently with respect to the project which the Minister is aware are not true, on radio stations such as Triple J and Alan Jones’ show on 2GB.
opinion/analysis
Unbelievable that the Coalition is still pushing the NBN cost/benefit analysis line just weeks after deciding itself to go ahead with its own NBN plans without waiting for its own cost/benefit analysis. I don’t think I’ve seen such hypocrisy in politics in the technology portfolio for many years. The lies and hypocrisy are becoming overwhelming at the moment. I’m sorry to put this in such blatant terms — but at this stage I don’t quite know how else to write about these issues.
Image credit: Coalition political pamphlet, NBN Co
The lies and hypocrisy are becoming overwhelming at the moment.?
They have been overwhelming for years..
I think it’s pretty clear.
The Coalition doesn’t know how to govern in it’s current incarnation. They only know how to oppose.
In spite of being in power since last September, they still think they’re in Opposition.
I wish there was a way someone could collectively smack an entire party across the back of the head.
You’ll need a bean filled whack bonk by my reckoning
http://standleefamily.com/blog/Scrapbook/image/toons/Garfield%20-%2019840923.gif
“The Coalition doesn’t know how to govern in it’s current incarnation. They only know how to oppose.”
This. And Turnbull is now like an old crazy man of the desert; raging against the world, decrying the sin of Fibre and ignoring the problems of his own creation. He’s entirely oblivious to his own rank hypocrisy.
Meanwhile NBNco are attempting to crush TPG by trying to rapidly deploy FTTH (not FTTB) to key major MDUs before the ISP does. What happens if (or perhaps more likely, when) Telstra decides to do the same?
At the rate the current government are going (and losing ground, in doing so) they may find they can once again spend a term or three back in opposition.
It’s the only place they seem to know.
Just additionally to this … I wanted to say ….
I feel your pain Renai. It’s a bit of a crossroads. How the heck do you try to be objective when one side of the debate / issue / opposing policy is so skewed where you don’t know which way is up any more?
And more importantly, how do you NOT come across as partisan yourself because that same side is giving you so much fodder to crucify them, that you then have to try to write articles that try to be balanced?
It’s exasperating to read what you’re reporting on, I can only imagine your frustration when it comes to writing these pieces. I will ask, respectfully, don’t give up. Australia will have lost one of it’s great conversations if you do.
Part of the problem is that Labor is virtually ignoring the NBN now. Journalists find it hard to hold a Government to account when they only have a weak Opposition to deal with.
NBN was Rudd and Conroy’s baby. Since neither are in the drivers seat, there is no real opposition to it dying.
This.
I just don’t understand how labor are practically ignoring this. I mean its their job to… you know…. oppose. The thing that gets me too, is that they don’t have to come up with half baked ideas just to oppose like the coalition have/are/will. There are years of facts and evidence to support their arguments. Sure the coalition will just throw mud at them, but IMO labor have a duty to at the very least give their best effort. To at least provide a voice. Especially because their NBN policy started this whole thing.
They don’t have to put spin on it, they don’t have to use soundbites, they don’t have to cherry pick and bend truths to be effective. Just speak the truth, especially now that the coalition is becoming very unpopular. If i were labor, now would be the time to strike, before things are too far set in stone with the CBN, and while the coalition are vulnerable.
Also the truth would be a very welcome addition to the last few years of politics.
“I just don’t understand how labor are practically ignoring this. I mean its their job to… you know…. oppose.”
My impression is that Jason Clare is being groomed as long-term PM material. He was punted into the Comms portfolio as it’s quite important, and the NBN is popular, but my opinion is that he won’t want to get his hands too dirty in an area that Labor has notoriously screwed up (with the NBN delays etc), in case it is brought up down the track when he’s in a more senior position. I also don’t think he’s organically interested in the technology sector at all. It all adds up to him working in the portfolio, but not too actively, and not in too controversial or visible a manner.
Ed Husic and Michelle Rowland are definitely passionate about this area and raring to go — and either would make an awesome Communications Minister. However, I suspect both are being held back a little by Labor party politics at this point — it’s hard for either to get too involved with opposing Turnbull when Clare is the Shadow Minister. My opinion is that Labor needs to explicitly give them some free air to hold Turnbull to account.
When it comes to Bill Shorten, my opinion is that he’s just not interested in the issue. I get dozens of statements and info about appearances from Shorten each week. But he never mentions the NBN, even when it would be appropriate to do so. I think he barely knows it exists as a project or as an issue. And this approach (which I can only describe as ‘ignorant’) percolates down from the top to Labor figures who aren’t organically interested in the issue. It also makes it hard for those who are organically interested in it (eg Husic and Rowland) to get cut-through in Labor to make it a priority, when the leader is obviously not interested.
(Note: I’ve edited this comment since it was first posted — I didn’t accurately post what I really thought, the first time around.)
“.. Labor has notoriously screwed up..”
I was under the impression that the major delays were caused by the then Opposition’s opposing legislation. Then Telstra delaying its AGM to ratify any changes, and finally where they (Telstra) were supposed to remediate the pits and pipes as part of that $11bn package but didn’t until it was too late.
But, please don’t let any bias and blatant misreporting get in the way of normal impartial reporting.
Let us not forget that the RSP is responsible for that final connection and Telstra has approx 70% of broadband customers and one of the big issues is delays in getting customers connected.
Hmmm
As Conroy has acknowledged, a lot of the delays were caused by NBN Co’s flawed contractor model.
I would still prefer the frustration of the Labor NBN delays then this bag of shit the Coalition are peddling.
It must be difficult to get your criticism across when a large slice of the media is owned by Murdock. Maybe the Labor party are just giving the Coalition enough rope and judging by the two party preferred vote its working.
“It must be difficult to get your criticism across when a large slice of the media is owned by Murdock.”
No he doesn’t! News Corp only owns a bit over 40% of the newspapers printed in Australia and runs no AUSTRALIAN tv or radio news stations! Blame the readers for their sales numbers. The Murdoch myth seems to get bigger every day!
Sky News which is shown on Foxtel, is not owned by News Corp. Foxtel also broadcasts news channels from the ABC, CNBC, CNN and Fox News! So to quote Fox News, the news coverage on Foxtel seems “fair and balanced” to me.
Flame away…………….
“The most recent IBIS World Industry Report on Newspaper Publishing in Australia (July 2013) finds that News Australia has a 42.3% marketshare, with the company’s daily and Sunday newspapers accounting for approximately two-thirds of all daily (including Sunday) newspapers sold in Australia.” (Emphasis mine). This is where the “70%” thing comes from, a lot of the other media are trade rags etc, not news dailies. Fairfax only have around 25% ownership.
Also, Rupurt has the controlling interest in BSkyB, the UK parent company of Sky News Australia. Sky probably seems less “Murdoch-centric” because 9 and 7 also have part shares in it.
But Rupert has most bases covered here in Australia, it’s only really Fairfax that can give an alternate view (not counting AFR of course)…
Even a private corporation would have major delays rolling out such a huge infrastructure project. You should see how long it took Verizon in the US to roll out their fiber.
The point is no one could foresee the delays that happened. No one is as “fault”, no one is to blame. It just happened due to unforeseen issues.
Labors problem wasn’t that they caused the delays, it’s that they almost totally failed to communicate the reasons for the delays and what they were doing to resolve them. They still have a huge problem in this area (engaging with the public and even their own supporters). Labors problem was (and still is) “failure to engage” through communicating about the wrong things.
In the case of the NBN, they needed to tell “Joe Public” why the NBN should be FTTP and what could be done with it that the other mediums couldn’t do. Instead, all “Joe” got was market-speak about next generation networks. It’s only those in the tech industry that really “got” the NBN (which is why one of Malcolms big complaints is the techs in Australia aren’t behind MalCo).
While the Liberals are slightly better in this regard, even they try sweeping problems under the rug by either pushing it as a “Labor Waste” fable, or “On water/operational matters” issue. They are the total opposite of what they promised (an accountable and transparent government).
I suspect Malcolm doesn’t need to wait for the CBA, because he’s already told them what will be in it (like what happened with his Strategic Review).
All politicians on either side need to realise that to pull Australians along with their ideas and get them “on board”, we need to be included, not excluded from the processes (Brandis is another example of a pollie making this mistake).
I think every party would like to engage with their constituents more often but it wasn’t the Labor NBN or lack of communication that lost Labor the last election. It was there most popular policy with approval ratings near 60+. Before Rudd had his first challenge, Labor and the Coalition were 50/50 after that challenge the Gillard Labor Government dropped 5 points and after the 2nd Rudd challenge Labor dropped another 5 points. Labor weren’t voted out because of there policies including the unfavourable carbon tax (pricing). they were voted out due to internal instability as seen by the Australian people.
+100
After Rudd lost his spot, the only instability was that pushed by the MSM, and a lot of either popular or at least neutral policies became unpopular because of Labors failure to communicate or poorly communicated.
Labor still have that issue, as Renai has lamented in some of his articles when he mentions specifically about Labor failing to pursue the Coalition on their NBN policy. Instead of Bill setting a Labor agenda, he peruses the populist, focus group set ones.
The old ‘Opposition Parties Don’t Win General Elections, Government Lose Them’ truism will certainly hold true with Labor until they fix that.
Hi Renai,
I think Labor undersold the NBN from Day 1. If they had technologies, legislature, and departments already prepped and developed to use the NBN from the start.. (eg. a nethealth programme, where medicare, pharmacies, clinics and hospitals/surgeries/specialists are all connected, so that every single person who connects has instant access to remote healthcare no matter where they are) it would have been a no-brainer to the public no matter what the cost and delays.
I can’t stand the liberals apparent philosophy which is a “rich welfare” party, to redirect money and resources from national programs and agencies to those which service interests of all their liberal backers and rich buddies. But the “alternative” party isn’t particularly attractive either… your post completely encapsulates the picture that I see of the labor party right now.
Australia is in a political vacuum, with nobody sensible at the helm, too much media imbalance, and too many sheep in this country. After being here for 6 generations (and a member of the pioneers association of SA) maybe it’s time to jump ship. All these newcomers (like the British-born Abbott) are buggering up our country.
I too have noticed that Bill Shorten never mentions the NBN, maybe he knows that the Labor NBN was so well supported that’s there’s very little mileage to be gained by harping on about it. And because a large slice of the media doesn’t want to report Labor criticism of the Coalition, that he would get better mileage by talking about things that affect Australians hip pocket and the broken Coalition promises.
Might I suggest that your perceptions as to whether Labor are, or are not, ignoring this is highly dependent on the extent to which the Mainstream Media (MSM) give exposure to various press releases and stop interviews etc.
Short of a Labor MP dropping their dacks/nickers in the middle of a city intersection, it may sometimes be very difficult to gain the degree of media exposure that you would consider ‘paying attention to’.
Absolutely agree on this point. The Murdoch Press are blatantly bias, particularly on NBN and Climate Change but in general anything to do with Labor or social equity is either ignored or pilloried in favour of their own business & Libertarian think tank ideas . Despite the falling profits, the print media still drives the agenda. Commercial Radio & TV discuss what the print journalists write. They don’t have the business model to accommodate investigative journalism themselves. What you read in the morning newspaper is simply regurgitated.
If the Opposition were to rant on daily, wouldn’t the punters turn off before they can do anything about giving the government the whack it deserves.
The public’s attention span matches that of a toddler in a toy shop. A similar situation is unfolding with the North West Rail Link. Many of the people who will suffer from a decision by the Minister of Transport which will have an impact for decades are failing to rise in anger just as many people with pathetic internet access are too cowed or apathetic to take to the barricades. Some even support the government!
Luckily social media is making it a bit easier.
I am more than likely completely wrong, but I suspect Labor is laying low on purpose, they would not get decent coverage in a blatantly biased media, the best they can do is in Parliament.
So just let the media and the Government dig their own graves, we can save all the media articles about the NBN and economic records and Climate.
The consequences will raise public ire and stir them out of their apathy and state of blind belief, and the answers to why? can be provided by both Labor with their own big fat booklet and independent media.
In the meantime fight on and get the truth and facts on record for the future
“I wish there was a way someone could collectively smack an entire party across the back of the head.”
Well there is way to do that, and it was used pretty effectively against the Labor Party last year (hopefully they got the message).
Just a pity the voters couldn’t use the same method of discipline against both parties at the same time.
Turnbull – “do as i say not as i do”
I suppose we had to expect Turnbull to respond with more bullshit as evidence mounts as to his own utter incompetence and waste. He has crafted this utter, utter shambles and we get to foot the bills.
Australia is to suffer the decisions made by this back-stabbing, conniving, belittling, smooth-talking politician for decades. There is no other example in Australia’s history of such an embittered politician orchestrating such a waste of our opportunities, time and money.
This is not anything new. This hypocrisy has been an issue since the Coalition to a policy to the election that pledged $29.5 billion with no Cost Benefit Analysis. If Turnbull was true to his rhetoric, that never should have happened! He would have done a CBA to help determine his policy and how much to commit to it, and then created a costed policy. The answers were determined without a CBA. The “solutions” in Turnbull’s policy were politically driven, just as he accuses Labor’s of being.
Its a shame this wasn’t highlighted more in the lead up to the election, when something could have actually been done about it.
+1
Well, Turnbull did assure us that his policy was ‘fully coated’ long before he even admitted what it was. Surely he & Tony could have drawn up some estimates of benefits on the back of a napkin while flying somewhere?
“his policy was ‘fully coated’ ”
In a coat of many colours – a patchwork coat! How apt this little Freudian slip is :)
Well, Turnbull did assure us that his policy was ‘fully coated’ long before he even admitted what it was.
Fully coated… just like a turd rolled in glitter.
Whilst of course there will always be a tendency for incoming governments to blame the last lot, I can’t recall Howard or Rudd being so low as to do so many months after being elected…
As such I think this comment has hit the nail…
http://delimiter.com.au/2014/05/08/arch-hypocrisy-coalition-continues-nbn-costbenefit-criticism/#comment-652268
But apart from the obvious hypocrisy, I’m guessing the pamphlet was taxpayer funded…?
:/ amazing
Whilst of course there will always be a tendency for incoming governments to blame the last lot, I can’t recall Howard or Rudd being so low as to do so many months after being elected…
Just look to Queensland. The LNP up here are *STILL* blaming Labor for everything even though the LNP have been in power for 2 years.
Obviously your memory has suffered over the years ;-)
Howard was still bagging Hawke and Keating years into his reign. At times he even lashed out at Whitlam.
Hawke at least had to grace to call in the troops after 12 months and tell them that had had 12 months to settle in and make their own mistakes. So from then on, they weren’t to blame the Fraser/Howard Govt, and they didn’t. This was public news at the time.
When it comes to maturity in the job, Hawke and Keating stand out so far in front of their Liberal counterparts that there shouldn’t be any comparison.
+100
Possibly my memory has …LOL
However, I think you missed my intent or I didn’t convey my intent….
Regrdless of JWH tantrums, the current government, each and every elected member, are repeating the blame game spiel daily, rather than just getting on with it…
Which was my point.
There’s this niggling thought at the back of my head. Its been there for about a year and wont go away.
How does the argument change if the Liberals HAVE done a CBA…?
I would imagine that a CBA was part of their plans, so they could groom the “independent” CBA to give the right answers, so what if they started one and realised how poorly it came out?
I would hope they had done some basic CBA for the FttH rollout at some point, and done a basic one for their own, so I have this niggling thought that they’ve done something close enough for them to realise the outcome isnt good, so decided to move on without one for their idealogical and uncontrollable urge to undo anything Labor’s done, regardless of merit.
That comes across as a touch paranoid, but if its paranoid, it doesnt mean its wrong…
A CBA will tell you what you exactly what you want it to say, if you set the terms appropriately.
Turnbull’s policy was defined before either CBA (the demands of which were simple political theatre) or review; proven and costed, dear elector – nothing to worry about.
He’s simply going through the motions, to be seen to be proper, nothing more.
Call me overly optimistic, but I still think there is a chance the CBA may recommend more FttP in the “mix”, and that Mal may even use that as a “Get out of jail” card for the position he’s put himself in with the tech/comms industries.
I can just picture him saying something like:
“Unlike Labor and their wasteful profligacy pushing forward with no advice due to Conrovian attitudes, we follow the guidance of experts and will deliver a better network than Labor promised and also do it cheaper and faster“!!
No need to thank me Malcolm, just get on with it…
The Coalition know that their real agenda for Australia is unpalatable to most voters, so they have learnt to lie ferociously in the teeth of obvious facts (with the help of Uncle Rupe of course). Nothing unusual about this.
+1 freddo
Renai,
Instead of writing about the problem, write about possible solutions and be part of making the solutions happen.
From my perspective, the current situation is entirely self-inflicted by those of us who work in IT (especially those who voted for the Coalition). Plenty of us knew exactly what was coming long before the election and plenty of us were very vocal about it, but a much higher percentage believed the propaganda or simply didnt understand the true consequences.
But very few of us own businesses with any real political power and (as far as I can tell) even small business owners were comprehensively suckered by the Coalition. No doubt may of them still believe the old trope that “business will always be treated better by conservative gov’ts”, which actually hasn’t been true for decades. The Coalition looks after Very Big Business, but not small business.
The only solution to combat the abuse of power is to disrupt the means of production, which requires solidarity. In this case, it would require solidarity with companies in the big end of town. Any large business which offers services in regional areas is potentially useful in this regard – education services, health services, WAN services.
No solidarity, no solution.
Bit hard to do that, mate, when
a) the bloke running the show believes his own rhetorical ideologies are the only way forward whilst outwardly showing pure contempt for anyone who doesn’t take his side, and
b) those who do have the opportunity to be in the same room as him don’t get in his face, abuse the crap out of him and tell him in no uncertain terms that if he doesn’t do things properly, there’s people who’ll grab him by the throat and give him a good old-fashioned flogging.
Where is the report on the ongoing cost of Operation and Maintenance for this plan?? 5 different technologies requiring different skilled workforces is a disaster. Provisioning, maintaining, material & spares logistics, tools & test equipment……..No business in it’s right mind would do something like this. The cost of day to day running will dwarf the initial capital outlay.
The latest mix I’ve heard is:
20% – FTTP
46% – FTTN
26% – HFC
6% – Wireless & Satellite
Keep up the good work Renai. Whilst other mainstream outlets are putting up a pathetic approach to holding the government to account on their actions, at least the smaller independent outlets are holding their own.
What I find outrageous are the claims by the sheep of the MSM that smaller independent outlets are somehow not as trustworthy or as reliable as the MSM. If we have learnt anything from the MSM over the past several years, it is that they are willing to lie and stretch the truth in order to skew the political landscape to their advantage.
I am more likely to get my news from independent outlets these days rather than the MSM, for the smaller outlets are more reliant on their reputation in order to attract repeat business.
I would highly recommend reading independent media rather than mainstream media. I’m actually working on a bit of a side project at the moment to better highlight these independent resources :)
Every single interview that liberal gives there ALWAYS has to be the labor blame in there.
When the devastating results of this up coming ‘budget’ are evident they WILL find some way to put the entire blame onto labor……guarentee it!
It makes them look so bad to throw blame labors way constantly not to mention its so childish!
It’s funny because there are many liberal voters I know who are admitting their vote was a huge mistake and they want Abbott to step down. If the majority of Australians want a new election or want Abbott out, then this is what should happen. Won’t though because we the people actually have no say.
I believe there’s another word to characterize the “hypocrisy” you are talking about. In many other countries that would be described as nothing else but clear lies and “corruption”.
As ICAC is showing us currently with the NSW branch of the Liberal and National parties (and Labor previously).
Q Whats the problem with the NBN
A Its being designed by a lawyer not an engineer.
Q Why is the NBN Being renamed Fraudband
A Because it is being complicated and being built from secondhand and redundant equipment using a philosophy known as MTM or Malcolm’s Terrible Mess.
Q Why are we going down this path
A Because it is supposed to be cheaper as we are using existing cables etc yet no one has sat down and worked out the cost of buying these cables from their current owners or working out the cost of re-mediating them because Telstra has let them run down as there was no future use for them post NBN.
Q. Why are we abandoning FTTP in favor of FTTN when other countries eg; NZ, UK France etc are converting their FTTN networks to FTTP?
A Because our politicians do not know any better and are still in Opposition Mode or Amateur Hour.and trying to make out they know better than the other side.
Perfect proof that a lack of proper action by Government when an issue with infrastructure is found can cause future problems:
For a few hours this morning, the NSW township of Scone (upper Hunter Valley) was cut in half, after a very long coal train was forced to stop due to a damaged piece of railtrack. This train has parked itself across both the northern and southern ‘level crossings’ – the only way to and from the Scone CBD by road.
Why is this relevant to the NBN? Well, instead of building overpasses back in the late 70’s when the problem was identified, the NSW Gov’t chose the cheaper option of upgrading the existing infrastructure. This failure to do what was necessary at the time has resulted in a major ecological and financial calamity in this town of over 6000 people – a town that is essentially Australia’s horseracing capital – and the possibility of someone losing their life due to the town ambulance being blocked from exiting the CBD when a train is moving slowly through is extremely high. Thing is, it’s going to cost both NSW and Federal Governments (read: you and me) a whole lot more to fix properly now than what it would have back then, in a time when the cost of building such infrastructure wouldn’t have been much higher than that of upgrading the existing crossings. Sadly, the Honorable Member for Wentworth is so blinded by his own ideologies and lack of common sense he continues to ignore those of us trying to tell him that spending money on the best quality network now will save the taxpayer a fortune in upgrades in the future. The sooner someone gives Mr. Turnbull a fair dinkum boot up the ass, the better…
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