21-June-2010
Portfolio Media Releases, Infrastructure
Today’s non-binding financial Heads of Agreement between NBN Co and Telstra shows how desperate Labor is to shore up its ill-thought-through NBN plan.
Labor is once again trying to solve a problem by throwing billions of dollars of taxpayers’ cash at it.
Today’s ‘announcement’ is designed to mask the fact that after almost three years Mr Rudd has failed to deliver a single new connection under the guise of an NBN. And even if it does get up and running, any new service is years away and consumers will inevitably pay significantly more than they currently do to use the network.
What value are taxpayers getting for the $9 billion which is to be handed over to Telstra? Labor claims this is justified to reduce the cost to taxpayers of building the NBN – but this hugely expensive and risky venture is something that no responsible government would contemplate in the first place.
Labor is also throwing $100 million a year of taxpayers’ money at the universal service obligation – a cost that has always been met by the telecommunications industry yet now is another cost foisted on the taxpayer.
The Coalition has made it clear for many months that we believe Labor’s $43 billion NBN plan is a reckless and risky adventure.
Rudd Labor’s expensive, interventionist and irresponsible plan is not the only way to deliver faster and better broadband.
Labor’s ill-conceived plan will risk billions of dollars of taxpayers’ money to recreate a government-owned telecommunications network with any services years away.
The Coalition does not believe that it is the role of government to force taxpayers to spend billions of dollars to build and or buy businesses in areas where the private sector is able to perform the role.
Today’s announcement of a non-binding financial Heads of Agreement makes it clear that a range of conditions and requirements still need to be met and of course, ultimately, shareholder approval.
As Telstra states “a very significant amount of work must still be done on many complex issues before we can take a final agreement to shareholders. As such, there is no guarantee a final agreement will be reached.”
It is clear that if any agreement is to be reached it will not be finalised for many months, well after the federal election.
Clearly because the Coalition does not support Labor’s reckless NBN we would not proceed with this arrangement if elected.
Prior to the next election the Coalition will outline a responsible alternative policy to deliver fast, reliable and affordable broadband. Our policy will be responsible and deliverable.
It will ensure those in under-served broadband areas receive a better service as quickly as possible and promote the broader commercial rollout of faster broadband more generally.
Media Contact: Mr Smith’s office - Andrew Cox 0427 460 063 Mr Robb’s office - Cameron Hill 0408 239 521