NBN to get green light with Senate support
- 22 July, 2010 13:27
- Comments 3
The Liberal Party's move to crush the National Broadband Network (NBN) has suffered a blow with the Greens pledging to support the legislation in the Senate and block a private sell-off.
The Greens could hold nine of the 76 Senate seats following the next Federal election on 21 August, giving them the balance of power. Some analysts predict the Greens could win a senate seat from each state after the election next month.
The move has damaged the Coalition’s sole ICT policy announcement in which it has pledged to dismantle the $43 billion network.
Sources close to Coalition policy development told Computerworld Australia of plans to exhume the failed OPEL project with a fibre-to-the-node (FTTN) aspect that will deliver slower, cheaper broadband to regional areas.
The Greens would use a Senate position to block the Government from selling off up to 49 per cent of the NBN to the private sector, once it has been completed.
The Greens labelled the Abbott Government’s plans to scrape the NBN as “wrecking ball tactics”.
Greens senator, Christine Milne, said the private sector cannot deliver equitable broadband access.
“Market failure to deliver fast broadband across the nation led to the need for government to intervene and it is clear that the private sector is not the answer to equitable access,” Milne said at Tasmania Parliament House today.
“Just as the highway and rail networks were critical to rural Australia in the last centuries, fast broadband is the critical infrastructure of the future.
“Everything from cheese, to salmon and cherries can be accessed online but the service needs to be reliable and fast.”
Shadow communications minister, Tony Smith, did not return calls by the time of publication.
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Comments
D Newman
I am wondering how the Liberals are going to view this subject in 8 to 12 months time, its is starting to prove to be a thorn in their side, and they do appear to be rather boxed in.
However this constant shifting of policy release and it being so late and amongest the small, very small number of officialy declared policies, I am wondering if they are giving themselves some room to wiggle in.
With the Greens in favour, the Nationals in weak favour(as stated at their conference), as it benifits their core membership, surely something is going to have to give a bit within the Liberal party.
Because even if they win the election they are going to face a Labour/Greens block and National party members not towing the alliance line, they are going to need a massive swing to counter that.
Daniel
It's easy for Abbott to not support the NBN. He knows they won't get enough votes to form government. So any 'issues' with the NBN, he can then blame on others.
That's typical of Abbott.
He has the same attitude towards other polices as well.
He has no integrity. He cannot be trusted.
Good on the Greens. (they don't get my vote, but I welcome their decision - at last).
RS
From way left of field...
I wonder if the Liberal party actually wants to win?
Of course Abbott wants it, but do the Liberals?
Remember, Abbott became opposition leader, at time when Rudd was the most popular PM ever, according to the polls, and when everyone else (even staunch Lib voters) thought the leader would be Hockey.
My guess is they knew they couldn't win and didn't want Hockey (the most likeable and probably knowledgable of the Libs) to be wasted, smashed by the popular PM and have their #1 boy become a losing opposition leader (like Beazley) at the next again election (in 2013).
So they wanted to keep Hockey fresh and put in an expendable, throw away leader, for the interim and the upcoming election.
Now love or hate Abbott (I've now certainly decided I won't be voting for him for a number of reasons, one being the NBN) but he has done a remarkable job in turning around their chances. He (with help from Labor) has even outlived the most popular PM ever and has put the Coalition in with a chance of actually winning.
So again I ask, do the Libs actually want their expendable, stop-gap, leader to win?
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