NBN and broadband policy: does Joe Public really care?

Stan Beer
Wednesday, 11 August 2010 15:12

Opinion and Analysis

Coalition leader Tony Abbott has copped a bit of flack recently for being a self-confessed techno-luddite to whom broadband may as well mean a new variety of pasta. The burning question is, however, does this really matter to the largely non-tech man and woman in the street.

Much has been made of Mr Abbott's technology ignorance in the media. His frank admission that he's 'no Bill Gates' is itself a telling statement, given that Bill Gates is somewhat yesterday's man in terms of IT and technology - Steve Jobs would have been a better choice.

Yet even as he continually exposed his weaknesses in matters concerning broadband and technology openly to the likes of Kerry O'Brien on the ABC, the question as to how much it really matters to the middle Australia mortgage belt was being raised in the minds of many viewers.

A poll taken on the ABC's national news radio this morning as to whether it matters if Abbott is not a tech head revealed that more than 70% of respondents voted no, it didn't matter.

This may seem incredible to us who make a living from the IT and Telecoms industries or to readers of publications like iTWire, who likewise have an interest in technology matters.

However, is the NBN or broadband performance in general really a burning issue for the vast majority of voters - particularly those in the marginal electorate seats of Queensland, NSW and WA to which the Government is clinging by the barest of margins?

I seriously doubt it. However, it could be if it were sold better.

The technology aware media appears to be doing its best to differentiate between the the Government's $43 billion comprehensive FttH NBN and the Coalition's $6.3 billion 'patchwork' of copper, cable and wireless, with Telstra left largely untouched. As one the media comes out in favour of the NBN on both technology and regulatory grounds.

Yes, practically everyone in the mortgage belt these days has a broadband connection but my bet is most don't really care about the speed of their connection or their download allocation - at least not to the point where they'll vote a government in or out because of it.

What people in the street who change their votes between parties largely care about are issues like jobs, taxes, transport and health (not e-health but hospital waiting times, the cost of insurance and so on).

One thing the Government does not seem to have stressed enough about the NBN is how much it could mean to both working and middle Australia in terms of job opportunities. After all, much if not most of the work building the NBN infrastructure will be in the domain of the ditch diggers who will be building the ducts for the fibres, not just the techies who will implement the network.

As for Mr Abbott, he may be a tech luddite and even economically suspect but he does understand the emotional impact on voters of two words - debt and taxes. He also knows that to embark upon a $43 billion wholly government funded nation building project like the NBN, there are really only two ways to raise the money - debt and taxes.

The question for swinging voters in the marginal electorates of Australia, is not whether they will get faster broadband, but which is more important for them - more jobs or less debt and lower taxes.