It can't get worse than Minchin: Budde
- 27 November, 2009 16:31
- Comments 13
The ICT industry couldn’t get a worse shadow communications minister than Nick Minchin, according to telecommunications analyst Paul Budde. Minchin confirmed that he has resigned from his role, effective at the end of next week.
The move followed a request from Minchin and shadow health and ageing minister, Tony Abbott, that opposition leader Malcolm Turnbull reconsider the Coalition’s policy position on the Federal Government’s emissions trading scheme (ETS).
Budde said Minchin had used his policies to undermine the National Broadband Network (NBN) rather than making a constructive contribution to the policy. “Minchin never came up with any constructive contribution to the NBN, his only aim was basically to undermine it, which he did with the ETS,” he said.
“I indicated to him all the elements where we could improve and put pressure on the Government to come up with better policies, but he never wanted to take that on board because it would show that he might have supported the NBN.”
Minchin was also criticised by Budde for being against the ICT industry and refusing to engage in any discussion with it. “[If Minchin had have] argued the best way forward for the industry that would have been great,” Budde said.
“His only aim was political gain and that is very destructive because [the NBN] is in the national interest, not there to favour a political group ... and this position made it totally impossible for anybody to use the Opposition as a channel to get a better outcome.”
Budde fears the same political line of thought may be carried on if “ultraconservative” Abbot wins the battle for Liberal Party leadership.
He cited his “excellent” relationship with former communications minister and Liberal Senator Helen Coonan and said the ICT industry could work with her.
“Coonan and [former shadow communications minister, now communications minister] Stephen Conroy shared the notion of national interest and there was enough common ground between the two parties at the time, that the ICT industry could live with both,” Budde said.
However, Budde doesn’t believe the resignation of Minchin leaves a big enough window for the Government to pass its controversial Internet content filtering scheme.
“There is widespread industry opposition against this policy and we don’t need the liberal party to support the industry there,” he said.
Speaking previously to Computerworld, Budde said the Federal Government’s lack of communication on its Internet content filtering scheme, and its refusal to set a date for the release of its findings, suggested that the plans had been shelved.
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Comments
Anonymous
Woo hoo! Thank Christ he's gone. Couldn't agree more with Paul Budde about the NBN. Thanks Malcolm Turnbull; you're a legend for forcing this change.
Richard
I've just returned from a week at Smiths Lake, part of the Myall Lakes. This area is close to Sydney, even closer to Newcastle and has great tourist potential. But you can't get radio reception or Optus mobile coverage. $1 million houses near Foster can't get internet access. The problems of lack of coverage are not confined to people who live in remote areas. Better communications are essential.
Anonymous
I personally think Minchin is correct. We don't need 100mbit to the home. Splitting Telstra into retail and wholesale will solve the problem. Lets have a tax break and save 43 billion dollars.
I mean if I have the choice between 7k to connect my home to fibre or pay off my credit card and live with ADSL2. I know which one is more important.
Bob
There is at least one worse possible shadow minister for communications - Conroy when Labor loses the election.
Phil
How very short sighted of you. But of course thats obvious since you didn't have the foresight to save and instead use your credit card, so i guess i can't expect you to see any benefits to the NBN...
The NBN isn't about giving you faster internet. Its about creating a conduit to most homes and businesses in Australia that can be used for the transmission of ANY digital content (eg, internet, phone, TV, etc)
Anonymous
I couldn't agree more with Budde. Minchin has just been a thorn in the side of everyone that has lousy communications (not just internet).
He didn't care about bettering communications for Australians, just his own political career.
Opposition is important so that different perspectives can be explored, but senators need to have common ground so that they can work together in the spirit of co-operation.
Sydney Lawrence
What makes you think Senator Minchin has "gone". You show your political ignorance. Paul obviously has some advantage in promoting laws that ban competition, use political blackmail to achieve a Government monopoly and put the Australian taxpayer 43 billion dollars in debt.
Asmodai
The fact that Minchin is a right plonker doesn't abrogate Conroy's responsibilities to supply cost benefits analysis for this network.
Or sureties that the build will cover undersupplied areas first, rather than inside out doing areas that already have a wealth of service options.
Or the other recommendations the expert panel put to him.
We are slaves to the party mentality in this country. Dislike Minchin, must like Conroy. Dislike Conroy, you must be a Minchin supporter. I dislike em both, where's the bloody C option? Can we get a minister that's progressive AND responsible?
Anonymous
Ah Sydney, how we have missed your misplaced and ill informed rants. Nice to see you again.
Anonymous
I love it how the detractors say the NBN is poorly planned but then always use the $43BILLION upper range of that plan when saying how much it will cost.
Max
If the government has said that it "may" cost $43B then you can bet it will. That's how much they have allowed for it, and there will be people ensuring they use the entire budget (they all know that if they don't use it they lose it). When was the last time you saw a government infrastructure project come in under budget?
Simon Shaw
He'll probably be back under Joe Hockey... He isn't gone.
Peter
I don't usually reply to these but ... a couple of points:
1) I live 3km from the nearest Internet access via adsl. Yes, just 3km. I cannot get cable or adsl, yet I am in the Sydney Metroploitan area. Unwired, Optus, Vodafone, 3/Hutchison 3G wireless services - drop in and out when available at all, usually they are not. Even 2G services are problematic (behind a hill). Telstra Next G works most of the time (nowhere near "full speed" though) @ $130 per 10 Gb. Read that pricing again, slowly.
Just like you I would HAPPILY live with adsl2 but it is not here and never will be. This is what the NBN is all about - supplying something that does not currently exist.
2) The Government is not offering anyone "7K" to pay off their credit card bill - they are offering to invest taxpayer money in 21st century infrastructure that will benefit the entire nation economically. We just happen to pick up a decent broadband service into the bargain.
3) I DO NOT CARE which political party is in Office. I DO CARE about whether they are planning the right thing for the right reasons. My opinion is obviously shared by the majority of voters who removed the previous Government for its failure to remember this. The bleating by the new Opposition after the 2007 election that "voters don't know what they have done" was both amusing and infuriating. They didn't understand then and they don't understand now. We DO KNOW what we did and we will do it again when the need arises.
4) Look at the price I have quoted above (it is reality) and tell me that we can't do better in 2009?
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