When it comes to hyperbolical political spin, or in plain language, enlarging things beyond the bounds of the truth, the Labor party wins hands down. In 2007 Rudd made so many promises, but up to his “assassination,” hadn’t delivered any of them. However he was able to fool enough voters to elect the Labor Party with him as Prime Minister.
Now Julia Gillard eloquently uses the same modus operandi in the hope that the electors can be fooled again, and re-elect her and her motley crew. We are only one week away from seeing if they succeed in hoodwinking the people of Australia once again.
This brings me to the $42 billion National Broadband Network. (NBN). There is a lot of talk about this from Julia Gillard, but what they haven’t told us so far is, if this is affordable to the ordinary Australian; namely, what it would cost per month to be connected to this network. They either don’t know this or are afraid to spell it out.
I am on broadband (ADSL Liberty) and this is fast enough for me. They constantly emphasise how fast one can download movies; the question begs, how important is this? Furthermore, a lot of people are opting to go wireless and this may be the cheaper option for the future. We could finish up having spent $42 billion on a network that is unaffordable to most Australians, but Labor has a proven track record of excellence at wasting taxpayer’s money. Just look back over the past three years to see what I’m talking about.
Unfortunately this exorbitant spending of money on the NBN will not deliver cheaper groceries and other life essentials to remote regional areas like our Cape York Peninsula in far north Queensland, where people are paying exceedingly inflated prices just to eat. How important would this NBN be for them? I bet Gillard and Labor wouldn’t ask them.
Even we in Cairns pay about thirty percent more for groceries than they pay in Brisbane. So, for us, cheaper costs of living would be more important than an expensive National Broadband Network. So, if Australian
voters believe the Labor spin and re-elect them, and give the Greens (The Labor sub branch) the majority in the Senate, then they must be gluttons for punishment and deserve the pain in their hip pockets. Remember at Election Day: A people who are sheep get a government of wolves. - Werner - Click on picture to enlarge! * * * * * * * * *
Here are some excerpts from “The Australian.”
I Quote: EIGHTEEN months ago, Telstra proposed risking $10 billion of its shareholders' money building a high-speed broadband network. After that bid fell over, the government, dizzy with its success in the polls, decided to build a fibre network of its own. Why? Because, Kevin Rudd said at the time, the alternative would have been to pay Telstra "billions of dollars in compensation".Last Sunday, the government announced an initial deal between Telstra and the National Broadband Network Company. Under its terms, Telstra will receive payments and benefits totalling $11bn post-tax. On top of that, taxpayers will have to invest about $40bn of their own money.
This, we are told, is a policy triumph. A triumph? As Pyrrhus said after the battle of Asculum: "One more such victory, and we shall be ruined."
Rather, the outcome and the process that led to it, epitomise the problems that marked the Rudd experiment.
They were part of a project conceived in secrecy and haste. That project involved a huge expansion in public spending and in the public sector, and would have been rejected by any serious process of deliberation.
Once problems emerged, the government, rather than reconsider, tried to get its way by threats of expropriation. And as the government became desperate to get an agreement it could announce, it took from consumers and taxpayers, from whom costs could be hidden, so as to buy Telstra's however reluctant acquiescence. Little surprise so little has been disclosed as to the details. But what is known shows how flawed the outcomes are.
Overall, it would be difficult to design a w
orse outcome. It is this kind of policy-making, caught in its thicket of confusions and contradictions that so fatally damaged Rudd's standing.Click on picture to enlarge!And it is policies such as these that need to be reconsidered if the new Gillard administration is to be any more than old wine in a new bottle.
Yet they are now regicides. And like all regicides, they have little choice but to march backwards into battle, not merely because they must be fearful of themselves being the next victims, but also because they cannot simply ignore the past errors in which they played a crucial role. Those errors have now lost Rudd the historical reputation he was capable of and should have earned. Unquote. To read all, click here.
* * * * * * * * *
My thought for today. – Werner One's first step in wisdom is to question everything - and one's last is to come to terms with everything. - Georg Christoph Lichtenberg
9 comments:
What's hidden away in Labors cupboard frightens me , they say the Tasmanians can't afford
the new broadband , did someone say it costs $600 +.
What will it cost to connect to this National Broadband Network? A good question, Werner. I have been waiting for an answer to this question from Senator Stephen Conroy, but it seems to me that he won’t tell us until after the election, provided, they get re-elected, which I dearly hope they don’t.
I was tempted to do what Mark Latham is going to do; not to vote (as he said on 60 Minutes). However, only because of my very strong desire to get rid of the Gillard government made me change my mind and I will now cast my vote with great delight.
This doesn’t mean that I like the coalition, but with them at the helm we had stability in this country, and the now opposition have all had government experience, unlike this mob, who were mostly union hacks. The only thing they were good at was milking the employers dry, and these businesses are now in China.
I’m glad when we arrive at the 22nd of August, these election campaigns are not what they used to be, and everything is stage managed political spin. What really gets on my goat is, when I see Gillard or Abbott carry and kiss babies. Why on earth are they doing this, babies don’t vote, and it is so off-putting to watch?
I have never blogged before, but this Blogging is so sensible and lays the truth in a brilliant way; I feel that more people should make their thoughts known. Count me in on your blogging.
* * * * * * * *
Never blogged, please note! It is clearly stated that this blog does not accept anonymous comments. It has to be a name or nickname, mainly to make a distinction between the different comments. So, I gave it a name: “Never blogged.” Thank you for your comment. The blogger
Edward R. Murrow once said, "The speed of communications is wondrous to behold. It is also true that speed can multiply the distribution of information that we know to be untrue." Is THAT why Labor is so keen to get the NBN up and running?
It's all very well to be satisfied with your internet speed, but what about those in rural areas? Spare a thought for all the kids in disadvantaged country schools and rural business. We need to decentralize from the cities and big towns and spread the population sensibly. A NBN may take the pressure off the cities.
As for Kevin Rudd's promises - gosh people have short memories! He and his government made an enormous contribution. Some people are so ungrateful! We live in a lucky country, but the global crisis could have been disastrous had it not been for the Labour Party. Shame on so many Australians for their ignorance and lack of gratitude.
Sure there were problems with the insulation & schools development programs but nobody seems to mention why. It was the greedy, dishonest contracting companies who ripped us off, NOT the government!
Our country will be in deep sh#t if Abbott becomes leader. The Liberal lineup cannot be trusted. They don't give a damn about the majority of Australians. They tend to look after their mates (the "money" people).
I say let a woman run the country for a change. Women can multi-task and organize so much better. (sorry guys, but it's a proven fact.)
Give Gillard a Go!
It's all very well to be satisfied with your internet speed, but what about those in rural areas? Spare a thought for all the kids in disadvantaged country schools and rural business. We need to decentralize from the cities and big towns and spread the population sensibly. A NBN may take the pressure off the cities.
As for Kevin Rudd's promises - gosh people have short memories! He and his government made an enormous contribution. Some people are so ungrateful! We live in a lucky country, but the global crisis could have been disastrous had it not been for the Labour Party. Shame on so many Australians for their ignorance and lack of gratitude.
Sure there were problems with the insulation & schools development programs but nobody seems to mention why. It was the greedy, dishonest contracting companies who ripped us off, NOT the government!
Our country will be in deep sh#t if Abbott becomes leader. The Liberal lineup cannot be trusted. They don't give a damn about the majority of Australians. They tend to look after their mates (the "money" people).
I say let a woman run the country for a change. Women can multi-task and organize so much better. (Sorry guys, but it's a proven fact.) Give Gillard a Go!
Gail Fay - Yes we do need to decentralize. But doesn't the Liberal-National policy cover the need for rural access to high speed internet more affordably, using a variety of means, including wireless?
As for KRudd's contribution during the Global Financial Crisis - don't forget Australia was in a very good economic position, and 'in the black' at the time, thanks to the Howard Government's good management. If Labor's various 'stimulus packages' had been better thought through, instead of rushed into in a flying panic, we would most likely be in a much better financial position now. Also, they should have had measures in place to prevent contractors rorting the system.
Labor's dismal failure at delivery of their other promises without a major cost blowout speaks for itself.
Gail Fay - Yes we do need to decentralize. But doesn't the Liberal-National policy cover the need for rural access to high speed internet more affordably, using a variety of means, including wireless?
As for KRudd's contribution during the Global Financial Crisis - don't forget Australia was in a very good economic position, and 'in the black' at the time, thanks to the Howard Government's good management. If Labor's various 'stimulus packages' had been better thought through, instead of rushed into in a flying panic, we would most likely be in a much better financial position now. Also, they should have had measures in place to prevent contractors rorting the system.
Labor's dismal failure at delivery of their other promises without a major cost blowout speaks for itself.
Gail Fay would have to be joking, “He and his government made an enormous contribution.” Isn’t that a bit ironic, if he made such an enormous contribution why was
he stabbed in the back by his “mates?” If you have mates like this you don’t need enemies.
Julia Gillard also talked about his great achievement and extraordinary capacity. Would a CEO of a big business who possesses those skills be sacked? Not in your life, his skills would be nurtured.
Gillard admitted that the government lost the way, so she is equally guilty of all the blunders, death and wasted money as she was the co-driver, but Rudd was made the fall guy. And you, tell us “to give Gillard another go,” you must be out of your mind.
You also wrote: “It was the greedy, dishonest contracting companies who ripped us off, NOT the government!” What a lot of unmitigated bullshit.
Gillard was in charge and should have been a wake up to the rip off and stopped it. However, they were blinded by their spending frenzy and were in such a hurry to shovel out heaps of money that they didn’t take time to think the mater through.
The government is a big business, however, in the real business world, if the CEO and his deputy would run the business like Rudd and Gillard ran the government – they would have been summarily sacked. And you want to hand the former deputy the steering wheel again?
If Kevin Rudd would take up a front bench position in a Gillard government he would lose all credibility. How on earth could Kevin or the other conspirators ever trust each other again and sit on the same table and pretend nothing had happened? This would create, without a doubt, havoc and dysfunction in the government. – I rest my case.
Post a Comment