TAG | Australian Liberal Party outraged over Government comms fund ‘raid’ |
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| by Alex Zaharov-Reutt | |
| Friday, 02 May 2008 | |
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Page 2 of 2 Billson then goes ballistic once more, outrageously accusing Minister Conroy of, essentially, keeping an election promise, which, funnily enough, the new Government is trying to do. Anyway, Billson says: “Despite this, he [Minister Conroy] remains hell-bent on spending $4.7 billion of taxpayers money, just so he can tick a political box, regardless of the consequences for the telcos sector and consumers.” Like the Liberal Party had the greatest relationship with telcos and consumers when it was in power, but... um... yeah. The accusations come flying thick and fast, faster than an outraged train wreck, with Billson saying: “Labor has so far failed to articulate any plan for how it will deliver high speed broadband to the people of rural, regional and remote Australia by the end of next year, as would have occurred under the OPEL project, which Senator Conroy scrapped without any alternative.” Billson continues: “Instead he puts out a cobbled together Request for Proposal document, which reads more like a plea for policy, dictated by ridiculous deadlines.” Now, Billson does have it right here, despite the outrage. The fibre high speed broadband network is supposed to take five years to build, OPEL’s WiMAX network wasn’t such a bad idea that would have been completed within only two years, and would have made Telstra work harder. But, y’know... politicians. They generally make things more complicated than easier. It is hard work. I’ll never become a politician, that’s for sure. Billson then accuses the Federal Government of going in two different directions at the same time, saying: “In relation to the Communications Fund, Dr Bill Glasson is currently conducting a review of regional telecommunications needs; Senator Conroy is promoting his work on one hand, but on the other is moving to strip the very funding stream that would give life to the review's recommendations.” The spectre of tabloid-ism isn’t dead yet though, Billson’s final line smashes it and grabs it back into place, with Billson saying: “This planned smash-and-grab raid has all the hallmarks of old Labor, hardly the work of fiscal conservatives.” Will Minister Conroy listen? Will Minister Conroy care, especially once the Liberal Party loses control of the Senate mid-year? Will there be more outraged press releases? No, No and Yes, are my outrageous guesses. Ah, politics. So predictable and unpredictable all at the same time! Figuring them out is like figuring out an enigma wrapped in a conundrum peppered with mystery, scandals, leadership challenges and leaks all at the same time, served up with my favourite new side dish. Can you guess what it is? No prizes for guessing it’s going to be a big side dish serving of outrage!
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