Turnbull: Even a full business case wouldn’t be enough
- 24 November, 2010 17:21
- Comments 3
Shadow Communications Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, has labelled the Government’s 36-page NBN Co business case summary as “curiously inadequate”.
Turnbull was responding to the 36-page NBN Co business case summary released by the Government today. It claimed the capital expenditure would was $37.5 billion and not the $43b previously stated.
“The Telstra deal is going to save them only about $1.7billion I think on capex,” he told 4BC Radio. “It’s going to save them a lot more in terms of reducing their operating losses. But how would you know? This business case summary is wholly inadequate. It doesn’t include a profit and loss statement, it doesn’t include a cash flow statement, it doesn’t include any balance sheets.
“If you went along with a document as breezy as this to a bank, with fifty grand to upgrade your café, you’d be chucked out.”
But Turnbull indicated that even a full business case from the Government would not be enough to satisfy the Coalition.
“Even if you have the whole business plan – it isn’t sufficient because the real issue, the fundamental, the threshold issue is given we want to have affordable broadband available to all Australians, what is the most cost-effective way of delivering it?” he said. “The NBN is the single most expensive way of delivering.”
Turnbull also claimed Senator Nick Xenophon had not received much in exchange for taking a stand on accountability and transparency.
“It is a sop thrown to the independent Senators in the hope that they will give the Government their vote,” he said in a blog post. “Real accountability, real transparency requires a thorough and complete business case, not 36 pages of reassurance devoid of financial detail.”
Nominations for the 2012 ARN IT Industry Awards open on Tuesday, June 12.
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Comments
Frank Grant
Mr Turnbull, you show me yours and I will show you mine.
viditor
Turnbull claims that “The NBN is the single most expensive way of delivering.”
Actually, using wireless to give people the same equal footing would be FAR more expensive. Even to give a true 12mbps minimum would require at least 2 x 4G wireless towers per block with a fiber connection to each and the same $4 billion in backhaul. And to upgrade a system like that would cost more than 10 times what it would cost to upgrade fiber...
John
Mr Turnbull, please, please give Australians a break from your political shadow plays. The best way for you and your coalition to show the NBN isn't beneficial to the nation is for your and your coalition partners NOT to sign up to fibre when your homes are connected. You have a choice - just use wireless. And please choose Telstra because you seems to support their past actions. We don't care if you pay thru your nose.
Show the nation you mean business.
The alternate is you are just plainly hypocritical.
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