John Linton
Perhaps it is just that Paul Broad mirrors so completely my own views on the political 'face saving' stunt known as the 'NBN2' as expressed here:
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/nbn-a-ploy-to-break-up-telstra-aapt/story-e6frg8zx-1225799459076
that encourages me to think that, finally, some sensible views of Krudds narcissistic nonsense will become further and further exposed over the next month or so before he irrevocably destroys Australia's communications industry. Maybe wishful thinking that it can all be stopped before too much damage is done.
I wont regurgitate Paul Broad's points other than to say it's nice to see someone else say that the re-creation of the old Telecom Australia (a government owned and operated communications monopoly funded by the Australian taxpayer in two ways - by using tax dollars to set it up and then by running it by charging exhorbitant costs that all monopolies charge) makes as much sense as Krudd's continual apologies to some group or another. In other words - Krudd tries to cover up the fact that he does absolutely nothing since being elected and each time someone in the media raises that point he tries to obfuscate the issue by raising a cloud of nonsensical trivia that attempts to replace analysis of his stupidity with some sort of transient emotionalism that leads nowhere.
"And let me just say this - I make NO apology for protecting working Australian families from the grievous inadequacies of the opposition when I say this". Sound familiar? It must do - I've lost count of the number of times Krudd has started a statement with...."I make no apology", referencing working Australian families and then ending such sentences with sententious nonsense - before, when he is really looking like getting into trouble - announcing he will be apologising to someone or other. But - back to reality.
Irrespective of whether it was Beazely's fault for the mess made of privatising Telecom Australia or the incoming coalition government for not making the necessary changes to that process there is NO doubt that a federal government built and operated "New" Telecom monopoly is not going to solve anything. No amount of Krudd outright lying or a totally stupid media's non-analysis of the 'NBN2' nonsense will change the fact that it is a complete waste of money, doomed to failure with the concomitant downside of screwing up what is already in place and working to the benefit of all Australians (not just the dummies who might vote Labor at the next election). As Paul Broad correctly says - "if the government wants to spend $XX billions of dollars to get re-elected spend it on the 'watering of Australia' by finding ways to move the floods caused by the torrential rains in the North of the continent to the middle and South of the continent". It may not be possible, it may waste a lot of money but, you know what? - "It's all about jobs and a better future for all Australians" and if it does fail no harm will have been done to anyone nor will anything have been destroyed.
Just kidding - such a thing would require a scintilla of imagination and removing the snout from the trough long enough to ask someone with some mild competence and initiative to get it done.....not going to happen in my lifetime.
All monopolies are bad - Government monopolies are worse. There has never been a government in the history of the human race that has ever done anything better than, for lack of a better description - "private enterprise", and there never will be - all government built infrastructure costs double or treble what it should because of the corruption of every government 'decision maker' who has ever existed and their sole objective of fleecing the tax payers of as much money as possible for themselves during their time in 'office' and if their is anything left over for their family and friends....and that's when they have some vague knowledge of what they are funding. In Krudd's case he hasn't got the knowledge or the intellect (I am excluding his politician's rat cunning - apologies to all rats) to comprehend the issues involved in a government funded communication network - all he intended to do was bail himself about his election winning lies of building a national network for $A5 billion that after 18 months was shown up as a total stupid lie and he invented a bigger lie to cover up the first one.
So it is nice to see Paul Broad put the Krudd rubbish in clear perspective yesterday. It will be interesting to see whether Singtel's LTE plans announced earlier this week will spook Telstra or whether, as evidenced by their Melbourne announcement yesterday they are prepared to tough it out until there is a Krudd back down or a change of government. Either way Krudd has now backed himself into a totally unwinnable position.