[LINK] Turnbull's address to the National Press Club

[Alex (Maxious) Sadleir]

On Thu, Aug 4, 2011 at 4:07 PM, Tom Koltai <tomk at unwired.com.au> wrote:
>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: link-bounces at mailman.anu.edu.au
>> [mailto:link-bounces at mailman.anu.edu.au] On Behalf Of David Boxall
>> Sent: Wednesday, 3 August 2011 8:42 PM
>> To: Link at mailman.anu.edu.au
>> Subject: [LINK] Turnbull's address to the National Press Club
>>
>>
>> Transcript with references and link to the Q&A that followed is at:
>> <http://www.malcolmturnbull.com.au/uncategorized/address-to-th
> e-national-press-club-australia/>.
>
>>One comment that struck me:
>>"What about New Zealand?  Over the same timeframe but for a net cost of
>
>>only $600 million[4], the Government's Ultra-Fast Broadband (UFB)
>>initiative will ensure 1.2 million (or 75 per cent) of households will
>>have fibre to the home (FTTH) delivering similar speeds as the
>>Australian counterpart.
>>
>>The remaining 25% will be covered by the $300 million Rural Broadband
>>Initiative and will receive broadband over the existing and enhanced
>>fibre to the node (FTTN)[5] network (which currently covers 84% of New
>>Zealanders "...
>>
>>If New Zealand already has a comprehensive FTTN network:
>>- How did Australia get so far behind and;
>><SNIP>
>>
> Err, Protectionist measures for T1 T2 sell offs without regard for the
> economy.
> In other words, Politicians want to get re-elected and are prepared to
> destroy the economy to if it stands in between them and re-election.
>
> On the one hand we have politicians that want to spend money to look
> good to the electorate <Labor>
> On the other hand we have politicians that want to sell assets to look
> good to the electorate. <Liberals>.
>
> Neither side actually cares what their policies actually cost the
> electorate.
>
> The few excellent politicians that exist on both sides are hampered by
> party back-room politics from effecting any meaningful change.
>
> The only truly successful democracy in the world, where the government
> respectfully refers to the electorate as sovereign, is Switzerland.
>
> In New Zealand, Politicians were to be held accountable if their
> policies turned out to be financial failures.
> All that was lacking was a legal system that was not scared of the
> Beehive (Legislative Assembly building in Wellington) and we might have
> seen true Democracy in action.
>
> In Australia, I'm afraid we might be a wee bit further away from
> democracy than our Kiwi cousins and a hell of a lot further away from
> Democracy than the Swiss.
>
> Whenever I want to find out why something is so, I do a spreadsheet of
> the shareholders/Revenue activities and stakeholders...
[...]
>
> Someone should be held accountable for that.
>
> Mind you, the way ASIC, the ASX and our legal system operates, that
> someone will undoubtedly turn out to be me.
>
> TomK
>

Speaking of following the money and the Kiwis pulling ahead of us, they
(like the UK's Business House) release all their received company records
for free eg.
http://www.business.govt.nz/companies/app/ui/pages/companies/1044489/documents

... while ASIC is busy writing to the Information Commissioner reminding him
not to dare tell them to break off their exclusive company information sales
with Dun and Bradstreet etc.
http://www.oaic.gov.au/publications/reports/Principles_open_public_sector_info_report_may2011.html#_Toc293927714