The Labor broadband plan could have been authored by a poor pretender to Hans Christian Anderson. Australia would have to believe in fairy tales to believe that the Labor Party can deliver this in the timeline and costs set out by Ms Gillard.
Remember that this is the same Labor party that was meant to deliver a computer to every student. According to Senate Estimates, only 297,500 computers are operational out of the 1,000,000 promised for year 9 - 12 students by December 2011 and this lack of delivery comes with a cost a blow out of a $1 billion. The computer program is a vastly simpler program than what they are proposing with the NBN and they have not come within a bull’s roar of achieving it, but expect to be left with a bill.
Labor, after failing dismally at a very simple objective, is asking Australia to believe they are credible and that they can deliver a high speed broadband network by 2017.
If one analyses the cost of the broadband at approx $43 billion then that would mean $2000 to every man, woman and child and that is before we have to pay for the operational costs
In Tasmania , the NBN has so far cost $37 million for 70 households in Tasmania, which is approx $500,000 per household ,so Australians have to understand that this fairy tale is at immense cost which will add to the debt which currently stands at $153.5 billion gross.
Former PM Bob Hawke said today at the Labor Party launch you have to judge a party by their past form. This Labor government’s past form and delivery is pathetic.
It is like the Labor Party telling us that they will develop, build, and deliver a Maserati to 93% of Australians next year when so far they haven’t been able to get a bridle on a donkey. The Coalition has proposed an affordable scheme delivered by telecommunications companies with proven experience in the field at a capacity far in excess of what is currently available and to a far greater proportion of the community than the Labor Party. In summary the Coalition are doing the prudent thing and are living within their means and not on the credit card
In the Labor Party plan Regional Australia is either left out or taken as completely and utterly gullible that they would believe the latest fairy tale from the same crowd that gave you Grocery Watch, Fuel Watch, the ceiling insulation debacle, which has burnt down 190 houses and one of the greatest swindles in Australian politics, the Building Education Revolution.
As they often say, if you believe this Labor sales pitch, then I have a bridge to sell you.