Opposition bemoans “veiled in secrecy” NBN process

Alex Zaharov-Reutt
Thursday, 22 January 2009 08:44

IT Industry - Strategy

Senator Minchin continued: “I remind Senator Conroy that he promised to start work on this trouble-plagued project by the end of last year, so the level of public confidence in him to deliver an outcome that is in the best interests of the nation has hit rock bottom.

“It is extraordinary that the minister is so arrogant that he cannot see that by engaging the public and providing an opportunity for comment may actually assist his decision making process.

“If, as many suspect, the NBN project ends in a train-wreck, or is ultimately abandoned, Senator Conroy will have nobody to blame but himself.

“The Coalition again calls on the Minister to publicly release as much detail as possible from both his expert panel and the ACCC for public comment, before the Government makes any decision in relation to a preferred tenderer,” Senator Minchin concluded.

The fact the report remains “secret” only leads to more speculation on the eventual outcome.

Is Telstra doing a deal behind closed doors to secure the NBN tender, especially given recent comments by Senator Stephen Conroy that Telstra continues to “remind” the Minister of its broadband capabilities?

Are other tenderers doing likewise in an attempt to trump Telstra and the Expert Panel process?

Is the Federal Government doing anything to use kilometers of existing “dark fibre” already in the ground?

If you thought 2009 would finally bring some answers to the NBN conundrum, the reality thus far is… no. Not yet!