James Riley
Tuesday, 30 March 2010 17:26
IT Policy -
Government Tech Policy
Page 1 of 2
The National Broadband Network was an "ill-conceived adventure" that had left poorly-served households in rural and regional Australia without a decent internet connection for two years longer than necessary, shadow communications spokesman Tony Smith says.
In a growing war of words over the future of the National Broadband Network, Mr Smith says the Coalition will take a policy to the next election that would provide better, faster and more affordable internet services across Australia.
Mr Smith offered no details of the Coalition plan, saying only that a fully-costed, detailed plan for broadband in Australia would be released ahead of the federal election later this year.
But it is clear the Coalition thinking is for a more targeted government involvement in the broadband roll-out, reducing both the cost to taxpayers and the risk associated with the project.
Communications Minister Stephen Conroy and Mr Smith have traded barbs this week over the Coalition's assertions that while it would honour contracts already signed as part of the NBN, it would not necessarily continue the roll-out of the ubiquitous fibre network.
"We all want to see better, faster, more affordable broadband; the question is how that is best achieved," Mr Smith said. "But to claim, as Labor does, that the only road to that destination is one that costs $43 billion with taxpayers owning the risk, is transparently absurd."
The rhetoric from both sides has less to do about Coalition broadband policy and more to do with the fact Government has a key piece of telecommunications reform legislation and an NBN bill stalled in the Senate.
The Government wants to paint the Coalition as a do-nothing party on broadband. The Opposition wants to show there are better and cheaper ways of improving broadband.
