[LINK] Coonan's solution - NOT

[Jan Whitaker]

 From ABC News: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/06/19/1955664.htm

Nationals Senator Barnaby Joyce is happy with the Bill.

"[The Bill is] hands and feet above the competing programs and this 
bid will take us up to a parity of service, parity of price," he said.

But Senator Joyce says the bush has not quite won the battle for 
equal standards yet.

==

Senator Joyce,

Parity means: Functional equality

It won't be, trust me. The physics of the situation for the type of 
network services will NEVER be on par between the city and the 
regional remote areas of the country, at least on a sustainable 
economic basis. The technology that is being discussed in the media 
doesn't have the distance range that will be available in the city. 
Parity of price to the consumer in regional Australia will only ever 
be true if there is a substantial government subsidy. So, whose tax 
dollars are going to be spent on that? Why NOT use the earnings from 
a PPP network, using the income from the full network to pay back the 
investment to the future fund?

Wise up, Senator. Minister Coonan and her pals are selling you and 
your constituents a pig in a poke again. You've been had.

Jan Whitaker
Berwick, Victoria