Ali's Choice
Jimmy Flynn (14)
No one denies the stimulus was a good idea.
Most fair minded people would agree that each of theses schemes were diabolically mismanaged.
The NBN? $50Billion to replace a system that was working ok.
Look at the take up rates where it is online, it has no rational economic feasibility.
The rest of the world is facing economic meltdown, and we are spending big bucks on a white elephant.
$50 Billion goes a long way in public housing or health, even with these fools administering it.
BTW I don't believe the mad monk is any better, he will do/say anything to get into power, for powers sake.
I think that it is perhaps a bit early to start criticising the uptake of the NBN, given that is hasn't been implemented in many places and the nature of telecommunications in this country ensures that most people are on longterm contracts. Like all major infrastructure, the real benefits of the NBN will become apparent in the longterm.
And as for the BER, the Ogrill Report found that a total of 332 complaints were lodged about the BER spending, most relating to value for money. That was approximately 3% of all projects, well within accepted industry standards. When you consider the the fact that this was first and foremost an economic stimulus, and the focus was on getting this program delivered quickly, such relatively low numbers of complaints are a testament to the way this program was implemented. I don't think anyone would argue that had the govt had 10 years to spend the BER money, jobs would have been delivered more cheaply. But as this was an economic stimulus, time was clearly of the essence.