Coalition attacks Labor over $1.6 billion NBN typo
- 18 January, 2011 10:47
- Comments 7
Shadow Minister for Innovation, Sophie Mirabella, has blasted her Labor Government counterpart, Minister Kim Carr, for an NBN press release typo that claimed a $1.6 billion deal was actually worth $1.6 million.
The statement in question was released by Minister Carr on behalf of Communications Minister, Senator Stephen Conroy. It announced NBN Co’s awarding of three equipment contracts worth a combined total of $1.6b.
But unfortunately for Minister Carr, the media release had a one-letter typo that reduced the value to $1.6m.
“Carr’s innumeracy compounds his obvious inability as a senior minister. It is time Gillard had the guts to rid herself of this innumerate dinosaur,” she said. “Carr’s incompetence almost makes Stephen Conroy look competent.”
The correct figure was provided by four other organisations involved in the deal and a corrective media release was put out by the Minister’s office three hours after the initial mistake. Fortunately, at time of publication only one media organisation ran the incorrect figure in an article.
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Comments
Michael Wyres
Seriously, is this all the Coalition can come up with?
Indi Warrior
Try a bit harder next time Sophie please.
Emmisfor
Take note guys, this has now become the extent and the level of the criticisms that the attack dogs from the coalition can come up with.
This is as good as it gets from them on the NBN.
When you have a single minded fixation on an issue, this type of behaviour will be your eventual level of response, you eventually resort to making mountains out of molehills...
Now to see if Sophie has the courage or even the decency to retract her comments.
I doubt it.
Fred Firth
I don’t know why you are attacking rather than supporting Sophie Mirabella.
Julia Gillard announced today that the NBN gravy train would be exempt from Freedom of Information requests. In other words, we do what we like and we are not telling you anything!
In the Australia that was, details of Government expenditure didn’t need an FOI request. Such information belonged to the public and was on public record for anyone.
Now we have state and federal government telling us that we have no right to know what they spend and who they spend it with.
Considering the NBN is costing us over $5,000 per household, we have a right to know everything and shame on anyone who thinks otherwise.
David
Think what NSW labor is doing with the power sell off and apply it to a $56B NBN. Scary.
Tom Brown
Sorry Fred!
Sophie Mirabella doesn't even understand what innumeracy means, it has nothing to do with typo's. And so should you Fred and so you should also be aware there is no $5000 per household rubbish.
At least she has admitted Conroy's competency though I guess she didn't mean to do so.
And what vindictive language she uses, how would you like someone using that bile on you, for a typo!
Sophie Mirabella, you just show us who you are (I don't agree with the term breeding).
And any review of the contents of the announcement would see that the 1.6m was a typo err: maybe not one publisher, glad it wasn't David Ramlis article earlier.
Fred Firth
Sorry Tom, you are right!
I was just being conservative. So we have 8.3 million households divided into 46 billion dollars = $5,542.00.
As the whole sorry NBN thing is cloaked in secrecy, how should I know anything other than the stated cost? As for Conroy’s competency, you leave me breathless. Competent at what?
Bullying, toadying, hoodwinking, conniving? All his fellow ministers seem to be good at that.
I still think it would be cheaper and faster to cover the globe with satellites and build a transmission tower on the moon. I guess we will just have to wait for the Chinese or Indians do do that.
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