[LINK] NBN longer-term prospects

[David Lochrin]

Warning... politics!

On Tuesday 31 January 2017 22:36:12 JanW wrote:

> The LNP never miss the chance to tell the public about their business prowess. And yet, they can't seem to make the conceptual transition as to how you run a country or invest well. Seems the only concept they carry with them into government is reducing taxes for their buds in the business world they say they came from. Or maybe so when they go back, all the rules favour their pockets.

I remember an observation that the currency of political debate in Labor is generally ideas.  I's not always the case of course but, on the whole, you had to have good ideas to get ahead.  However the currency of debate in the Coalition is power.

Thus we often see the dynamics of power operating in the Government, but it seems to have a strange reluctance to engage with rational, evidence-based decision making.

We have a "direct action" carbon policy which most experts think is fairly useless, and discussion on a rational alternative aired recently by Josh Frydenberg was immediately stopped by Turnbull.  The Coalition is looking to lavish billions on large companies in tax reductions to encourage economic activity despite that policy never having worked anywhere before (and despite their own rhetoric about "free markets").  And the universities & CSIRO have been gutted while, at the very same time, Turnbull goes on about the importance of "innovation".

Is it any wonder we now have a rats-nest NBN?

Sorry about that...

David L.