Infrastructure
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JOHN AUSTEN. Is there a simple way of dealing with national infrastructure issues? Yes, but it is not a simple matter of adopting Infrastructure Australia’s ‘project list’.
The argument Recent pieces offered a seemingly simple way forward to deal with national infrastructure issues. It should be simple. All parties should commit to (Infrastructure Australia’s) “project” list – in part or in full – and then stop spending. These “projects” have been properly assessed and found to be worth doing, and specifically worth Continue reading »
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JOHN AUSTEN. The High Court – The Williams case and transport
This article expands on previous comments that the Williams (No. 2) case is reason to reconsider Commonwealth engagement in land transport. [1] The challenge to Government spending programs Williams (No. 2) was the third recent challenge in the High Court to Commonwealth Government spending. Before these three cases it was widely assumed the Government could Continue reading »
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JOHN AUSTEN. High speed rail – here we go again.
Another proposal involving high speed rail Sydney-Melbourne recently surfaced; from CLARA (Consolidated Land and Rail Australia). Extensive media reports noted an advisory board including former Trade Minister the Hon. Andrew Robb, ex Premiers the Hon. Barry O’Farrell and the Hon. Steve Bracks , and former US Transportation Secretary Ray Lahood. A figure of $200billion was Continue reading »
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JOHN AUSTEN. Road pricing rather than more road funding must be the priority.
Road pricing is a hot topic for policy advisers although less popular with the public and elected representatives. This article attempts a (overly) simple explanation of what, why and whereto of road pricing. Continue reading »
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JOHN MENADUE. Road funding – what is going on.
Road funding is becoming a mess with quite serious misunderstandings of what is being spent and how much is being wasted. The benefits are of increasing doubt. In this blog I carried a post by John Austen ‘Road spending incurs billion dollar new debts annually‘. He pointed out that in 2013-14, we spent $5 billion Continue reading »
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JOHN MENADUE. What the major parties ignored in the election?
The election seemed more about avoiding some key issues than a contest of values and ideas. Because so many key issues such as refugees were avoided, it is not surprising that so many voters, about one third, turned their backs on the major parties. Some issues like the NBN were widely canvassed in social Continue reading »
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LAURIE PATTON. NBN: The Internet is for everyone
According to Twitter, #NBN ranked fifth out of the ten issues most mentioned on the #ausvotes hashtag. Ahead of immigration, marriage equality, super, jobs and tax cuts. So it is timely that we look at how we are going when it comes to providing access to fast, reliable broadband. Last week the widely quoted Continue reading »
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JOHN MENADUE: ‘Plan for a strong new economy’
As a voter in the prime minister’s electorate of Wentworth, I have received two letterbox drops from Malcolm Turnbull on a 5-point plan for economic growth and jobs. This 5 point plan is the centre piece of Malcolm Turnbull’s national campaign. It is a very flimsy plan which the media has not seriously examined. Continue reading »
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JOHN AUSTEN. Infrastructure summit – reported highlights
Is there such a thing as bad or wasteful infrastructure or is it like motherhood, all noble and good? Continue reading »
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JOHN AUSTEN. High speed rail – where to? Competing with airlines or cars?
This article proposes a change in focus for the high speed rail debate. Rather than seeking to compete with airlines, rail should contribute to settlement that eases pressures on capital cities. This change of focus does not require ego stoking thousand kilometre distances at 350kph plus speeds, but trains for comfortable commuting between second tier Continue reading »
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LAURIE PATTON. Broadband: It’s buggered in the bush
Last week’s Broadband for the Bush conference held in the rarefied atmosphere of Brisbane’s State Library revealed just how disillusioned people living in rural, regional and remote Australia have become with the state of their telecommunications services. Chief among the concerns expressed by farmers, welfare agencies, government officials and Indigenous leaders was the limitations of Continue reading »
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MARK GREGORY. Labor’s NBN plan shows it listened to critics of the current broadband rollout.
Labor’s broadband plan includes few surprises and fulfils Opposition Leader Bill Shorten’s commitment to responsibly increase the construction of fibre to the premises (FTTP). At the same time, it would ensure the completion of the National Broadband Network (NBN) is not delayed further. It shifts the focus back to providing Australia with broadband infrastructure that Continue reading »
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PAUL BUDDE. The more fibre the better.
You can’t turn the clock back and in the case of the NBN that means you can’t undo those parts of the Multi-Technology-Mix (MtM) without immediately destructing billion of dollars. While it is a pity that the original plan – providing fibre-to-the-home to 93% of the population – can’t be continued the next best thing Continue reading »
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WARWICK ELSCHE. Shorten should play to Labor’s strength.
For more than 60 years, since opinion polling became important in shaping election strategies, there has been for the Australian Labor Party one awkward but stubborn consistency. Rightly or wrongly the Australian Electorate, with very isolated and brief exceptions, has always preferred and trusted the non Labor side of politics, the Liberal-National Party Coalition, Continue reading »
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ROD TUCKER. How do Labor and the Coalition differ on NBN policy?
As hinted in earlier announcements by Shadow Communications Minister, Jason Clare, Labor’s much-anticipated policy for the National Broadband Network released Monday commits the party – if elected – to move away from the Coalition’s fibre to the node (FTTN) network and transition back to a roll-out of fibre to the premises (FTTP). This was the Continue reading »
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PAUL BUDDE. Can we please cut out the political NBN noise?
With all the kafuffle around the NBN it is very difficult for most people to see the big picture in all of this. The issue has been so incredibly politicised that it is almost impossible to cut through all the noise. I will stick to what I believe is at the heart of the Continue reading »
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JOHN AUSTEN and LUKE FRASER. Urbane transport policy. Part 3 of 3
This article is the third in a series about transport. The first two dealt with topics raised by the Prime Minister; mass transit, 30-minute cities etc and noted some challenges for the Commonwealth.[i] Urbane Transport policy. Part 1 of 3 Urbane transport policy. Part 2 of 3 The articles draw on public information – Continue reading »
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MUNGO McCALLUM. Malcolm Turnbull and NBN leaks.
Malcolm Turnbull is all very holy about the independence of the Federal Police following last week’s raid on ALP offices and homes over embarrassing (to him) NBN leaks. Why, the government had absolutely nothing to do with the cops, the Prime Minister asserted virtuously. Bill Shorten should be ashamed of even thinking such a thing. Continue reading »
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JOHN AUSTEN and LUKE FRASER. Urbane transport policy. Part 2 of 3.
Urbane transport policy This article is the second in a series about transport infrastructure. Part 1 dealt with the Prime Minister’s focus on mass transit and 30-minute cities. This deals with other matters raised by the Prime Minister: value capture, city deals. A final article will deal with the Commonwealth’s role.[i] Value capture Value capture Continue reading »
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Are conservatives better economic managers?
Are conservatives better economic managers? Part 1 In my blog of 3 May 2016, I queried the claim by Malcolm Turnbull and apparently supported by many media commentators and also by the public, that conservatives are better economic managers. The evidence and the record do not show that. In last week’s budget and in the Continue reading »
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John Austen and Luke Fraser. Urbane transport policy. Part 1 of 3.
Prime Minister Turnbull made a splash on urban transport recently. He sketched a vision of ‘30 minute cities’ where residents spend on average just one hour a day travelling to regular activities like work and shopping. He also considered mass transit solutions rather than just more motorways. This article is the first of three raising Continue reading »
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Rob Nicholls. NBN – election issue or fizzer?
Cable competition NBN Co has let a contract worth $1.6 billion for Telstra to construct the hybrid fibre coaxial (HFC) network in the mainland state capital cities. The deal has the ACCC on edge with Rod Sims expressing concern that Telstra will get a retail edge. As he said in a media release: “It is Continue reading »
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John Austen. Grattan Institute on transport projects: a better mousetrap?
In ‘Road to riches: better transport investment’ the respected Grattan Institute joined commentators, independent authorities and lobby groups in advancing ideas on transport ‘investment’. Like others it proposed publication of assessments for public spending; a better mousetrap to ensnare politically motivated proposals. The report proposed a three stage process for government transport ‘investment’: Spending only Continue reading »
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Mark Gregory. What the government doesn’t want you to know about the NBN
The Coalition’s National Broadband Network (NBN) plan is in trouble and the Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull should heed the mounting calls for Coalition NBN plan to be dropped before the nation’s digital future is harmed irreparably. In June it will be three years since Turnbull, as Minister for Communications, launched the Coalition’s NBN plan, extolled Continue reading »
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Luke Fraser. Grattan in the transport pantomime: ‘You’re getting colder … ‘
Earlier this month the Grattan Institute made its first major report into transport, producing Roads to Riches: better transport spending[i]. The 70-page report is replete with interesting-enough statistics, but it misses the mark on the major problems and where solutions might most reliably be found. Its core conclusions could perpetuate expensive mistakes (more of that Continue reading »
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Paul Budde. NBN company needs support to pursue FTTdp
In his blog of 5 April, Paul Budde suggests that the NBN company needs support to help it overcome the stumbling block of Malcolm Turnbull who seems unwilling to reconsider the mistake he made on the NBN as Communications Minister in the Abbott government. See Paul Budde’s article below. See also link to article http://www.buddeblog.com.au/frompaulsdesk/nbn-company-needs-support-to-pursue-fttdp/ Continue reading »
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NBN stars collide – waiting for the Big Bang
Two stars collided in Canberra last week, but the big bang is yet to be heard. Continue reading »
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What has gone wrong with Malcolm Turnbull’s NBN?
In a column in The Drum on the ABC, Paddy Manning comments that ‘Malcolm Turnbull’s version of the NBN is proving to be much more expensive to deliver than was originally hoped. Remember that the only merit of Turnbull’s “multi-technology mix” (MTM) was that it would be cheaper to build …’ See link to article Continue reading »
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Building Australia’s white elephant – cheap buy for white knight Telstra
Tony Abbott gave Malcolm Turnbull instructions to undermine the NBN. As Minister for Communications it is apparent that that is what Turnbull did. As Prime Minister he could have reversed the damage to NBN. But he chose not to. In the following blog published by Paul Budde, he points out that both Infrastructure Australia and Continue reading »
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Mark Gregory. Stone-walling on a second rate NBN network.
In responding to questions at the Senate Estimates hearing held on 9 February 2016, NBN Co CEO Bill Morrow admitted he did not know the number of nodes being built during the Fibre to the Node (FTTN) rollout and he went on to say that any information about what is being rolled out by NBN Continue reading »