58/07 Thursday 10 May 2007

Labor making it up on the run

The Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts today described Labor’s broadband funding plan as a perfect illustration of the dangers to the Australian economy if Labor again got control of the nation’s finances.

“Tonight, Mr Rudd will ask the Australian people to trust him to run Australia’s economy when he delivers his speech in reply, but already Labor plans to waste $5 billion of taxpayers money on a project that the industry wants to fund itself.

“I suggest that while Labor is in the mood to backflip on their IR and Education policies, they take a look at re-writing their Broadband policy,” Senator Coonan said.

“There is no debate about whether Australia can or should have a new high speed broadband network. We will. The question is how we do it and what commercial incentives are needed to get the network build underway.

“Labor’s plan is to waste $5 billion of taxpayer’s money on a project that the industry will fund itself. And this is where we differ vastly from the Labor Party.

“There are two commercial proposals on the table for a fibre high speed broadband network in Australia – one by Telstra and another by the G9.

“Both have felt the need to take out full page advertisements this week telling the world they do not need taxpayer funds to build their fibre broadband network.”

Telstra’s advertisement said the following:

“Telstra needs no money from Canberra to build a world-leading broadband network.”

The G9’s advertisement also made a meal of Labor’s ridiculous spending spree saying:

“The G9 plan does not require taxpayer funds. It will be independently financed.”

“If someone offers to build a broadband network at no cost to taxpayers, would you really say: ‘No, I’ve raided the Future Fund, emptied the Communications Fund, so have $5 billion anyway’?”

“If Mr Rudd can’t see that wasting $5 billion dollars on a fibre network that the industry will build on their own, then every taxpayer must ask, how can Labor possibly manage Australia’s trillion dollar economy?

“Mr Rudd might be a very cocky politician saying he will win the election but he needs to get a better grip on what needs taxpayer funding, and what doesn’t,” Senator Coonan said.

“Labor’s broadband funding plan is economic vandalism and proves beyond any doubt that Kevin Rudd’s Labor cannot be trusted to manage the Australian economy.”