[Aussie Keith]

BAHAHAHA!!!   

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/comment/blogs/blunt-instrument/what-we-dont-know-cant-hurt-us-20130924-2uaqd.html

[rustynutz]

Abbott's model to wreck a government may come back to bite him...

September 14, 2013

Tony Abbott is promising again and again that he will lead a "methodical, measured, calm" government. But he's overlooking something. He's just finished writing a rip-roaring new guidebook on how to be a successful opposition.
It's the Abbott model of how to destroy a government. And guess what? The Labor party noticed.

Rule No. 1: Don't give the government a thing. Fight it up hill, down dale, day in day out. Be strident, be angry, be unreasonable. Apply maximum pressure and see what cracks.

Rule No. 2: Don't allow the government to control the narrative. Make a lot of noise. Fill the airwaves with angry dissent and maximum outrage. Generate an impression of disorder. If you control the narrative, you control the psychological battlespace.
 
Rule No. 3: Exploit the deadliest of all contemporary policy issues, the one that was central to the downfall of the last three prime ministers: climate change. This remains a potent issue and will remain so for years


Read more: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/abbotts-model-to-wreck-a-government-may-come-back-to-bite-him-20130913-2tqa7.html#ixzz2fm08qTxw

[Ugly Mongrel]

It appears John Howard's top Navy man thinks Tony's barking up the wrong tree. Just saying.

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/TopStories/2013/09/24/Ex-defence_bosses_slam_boat_blackout_908981.html

[rustynutz]

I've been wondering how long it would take..... 

[Surferdude]

I've been wondering how long it would take..... 

Well, you can hardly expect him to hide the figures.
He's not Labor.

[Doggie 1]

I've been wondering how long it would take..... 

You can't keep the truth hidden for ever.

[rustynutz]

Well, you can hardly expect him to hide the figures.

Only his own figures, hey?... 
We're already seeing him trying to hide his turning back the boat fails....

You can't keep the truth hidden for ever.

Quite right, how long before Joe Public finds out what Abbott & the Libs are really like?   

[Surferdude]

Rusty, maybe you could change your avatar to an ostrich. 

[rustynutz]

Funny, I was just thinking you could use this one for yourself.... 

[Surferdude]

Funny, I was just thinking you could use this one for yourself.... 

But..................

I'm not the one who's posting several times a day in this thread and its predecessor.

Methinks you protestest too much.

 

[rustynutz]

So that makes me an ostrich how? 

[Surferdude]

All of this plus pretty much every thing else you have posted.
It's called "one sided"
But, I've had my say.
Some people just can't let go.
Or accept the judge's decision. Just get on with your life and have another go in 3 years.

Well, you can hardly expect him to hide the figures.

Only his own figures, hey?... 
We're already seeing him trying to hide his turning back the boat fails....

You can't keep the truth hidden for ever.

Quite right, how long before Joe Public finds out what Abbott & the Libs are really like?   

[Aussie Keith]

Peace brothers. 

This is standard operating practice for a newly elected incoming party. I predicted it long ago. SOP is "woe is us the lying b@st@rds have been telling porkies about the figures, we can't do what we said", etc, etc, all their fault. This is why the figures could be so rubbery ahead of the election, they knew they could/would pull this stunt.

However, that's for beginners.

The advanced version is an "independent inquiry" or sometimes "audit" is conducted and a whole new set of figures is released. This is usually followed by mock outrage, rescinding of election promises and rolling out the true agenda including axing a shedload of public servants. We have already been told the inquiry will happen as well as axing of public servants so no one should be surprised when this occurs.

That's why I was alarmed at Hockey getting the gong, he can't count, he has no idea what an audit is. On the bright side he does what he is told and doesn't appear to ask too many questions. Yes Prime Minister.

I'm almost bold enough to bet a testicle that pulling the pin or deferring on many of the election promises will happen using this as a pretext.

Let the show roll on.


“History is written by the victors.”
― Winston Churchill

[Aussie Keith]

A clarification: this is standard for new governments of all political persuasions. Any that fail to do this are setting themselves up for a hard time.

[rustynutz]

All of this plus pretty much every thing else you have posted.
It's called "one sided"
But, I've had my say.
Some people just can't let go.
Or accept the judge's decision. Just get on with your life and have another go in 3 years.

Whatever....  

[Doggie 1]

That's why I was alarmed at Hockey getting the gong, he can't count, he has no idea what an audit is. On the bright side he does what he is told and doesn't appear to ask too many questions. Yes Prime Minister.

Bulldust.

“History is written by the victors.”
― Winston Churchill

The victors are now in power.
As Trev said, accept it, get over it.

[rustynutz]

Geez, who put both of you in charge of the fun police? 

[Ugly Mongrel]

I hope the coalition are gracious and "accept the judge's decision" when their legislation gets blocked by The Senate.

[Ugly Mongrel]

Those of us who comment on the shortcomings of the coalition now they are in power have as much right to do so as those who criticised Labor's shortcomings while they were in power. I'm afraid it has nothing to do with getting "over it"

An example of those shortcomings...

The pre-election disaster of invasion by asylum seekers is now only a "passing irritant"

http://brisbanetimes.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/tony-abbott-says-boats-issue-with-indonesia-a-passing-irritant-20130927-2uhzs.html

[rustynutz]

Tony Abbott's incredible disappearing act

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-09-26/green-tony-abbotts-incredible-disappearing-act/4980664


Button up: Abbott to keep ministers in check

http://www.theage.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/button-up-abbott-to-keep-ministers-in-check-20130925-2uelx.html

[Ugly Mongrel]

You're a naughty boy, rustynutz. Get back in your box.

[rustynutz]

Just giving a so called "one sided" view of "Tony "About Face" Abbott, Um.... 

[Ugly Mongrel]

Just giving a so called "one sided" view of "Tony "About Face" Abbott, Um.... 

Shame on you. You'll upset the fun police.

[rustynutz]

So what else is new?   

Some people really need to get a sense of humour... 

[Ugly Mongrel]

Do you mean a sense of humour like this, rustynutz?

[rustynutz]

 

[Aussie Keith]

That's why I was alarmed at Hockey getting the gong, he can't count, he has no idea what an audit is. On the bright side he does what he is told and doesn't appear to ask too many questions. Yes Prime Minister.

Bulldust.

“History is written by the victors.”
― Winston Churchill

The victors are now in power.
As Trev said, accept it, get over it.

I accepted it was going to happen long ago. 

Luckily it's the nature of a democratic system that I am able to point out every defect, every flaw and every lie as I see fit, just as you have done. I have about 3 years worth of I told you so being rolled out right now. You have about the same amount of apologising or justifying for whats about to happen coming up - should you choose to do so of course.

There is nothing to get over, this is a dynamic process. Every day brings a new bundle of fun to dissect, examine and dissertate. It's going to be huge fun.

[Phil №❶]

@UM, 

[Aussie Keith]

I'll start here: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/digital-life/computers/blogs/gadgets-on-the-go/turnbulls-fragmented-nbn-dooms-australia-to-repeat-the-mistakes-of-the-past-20130904-2t4cr.html

Letting telcos cherry-pick profitable suburbs will put us right back where we started – with Telstra holding the country to ransom.

Anyone who thinks that regulators like the ACCC will ensure all ISPs get a fair deal clearly hasn't been paying attention for the last few decades.

The real reason why Australia needs a national broadband network has been lost amid the political and technical arguments of the last few years. The primary purpose of the NBN isn't to deliver 100 Mbps download speeds across the country. Nor is the primary purpose of the NBN to run fibre to every home. The primary purpose of the NBN is to fix the hotch potch broadband infrastructure and monopolistic quagmire created by decades of market failure and regulatory impotence – an environment which empowered the monster that is Telstra.



If you read my comments in the NBN thread, you'll see that I agree this is entirely the case. The high speeds to home issue is where the Libs hijacked the debate for their own nefarious purposes. Onwards...


Telstra has abused its control over the copper infrastructure time and again to stifle competition and limit innovation. There was a time when Telstra refused to enable ADSL2+ in an exchange until a competing telco installed its own ADSL2+ infrastructure. The Telstra and Optus HFC cable rollouts of the 1990s did little to alleviate the problem, cherry-picking the profitable suburbs while chasing each other down one street and then skipping the next. More recently the haphazard approach to rolling out broadband infrastructure in greenfield sites has created entire estates where homes have no choice when it comes to their internet service provider.

This chaotic broadband rollout has created a vast digital divide between Australia's haves and have-nots. It's not just a divide between the cities and the country, it's a divide which exists within suburbs and even within streets. The quality of your home and business internet connection is basically pot luck depending on how Telstra's monopolistic behaviour has impacted on the available infrastructure and choice of providers.

A case in point, my next door neighbour is hooked up to 100 Mbps HFC cable but I'm stuck on a wavering 5 Mbps ADSL2+ connection – a speed which actually makes me one of the lucky ones in this country. As a city dweller it's easy to forget that some homes are lucky to get 1 or 2 Mbps depending on the quality of the copper line and their distance from the exchange. Some homes are actually still stuck on dial-up thanks to infrastructure bottlenecks which current market forces and regulation have failed to address.

Australia's current broadband infrastructure is the equivalent of running a mix of bitumen, gravel and dirt roads through every suburb in the country and then letting Holden decide which cars can drive on which roads. The haphazard quality of Australia's broadband infrastructure is hampering potential high-speed services which require a critical mass of users to be viable. Meanwhile Telstra has continually abused its power to hinder competitors – from restricting their access to telephone exchanges to deliberately dropping its retail prices below its wholesale prices.

The real blame for this mess doesn't actually lie with Telstra. It lies with politicians and regulators who created an environment in which Telstra could abuse its power. Blame falls on both sides of politics and it goes back at least as far as the refusal to separate Telecom into retail and wholesale arms. Instead our politicians left the country's biggest telecommunications retailer in charge of the nation's infrastructure and then invited competitors to play by Telstra's rules.

The decision to build a fibre-to-the-home network was not simply a technical decision to bypass the copper network, it was more of a business decision to cut Telstra out of the picture. Sol Trujillo made it painfully clear that Telstra couldn't be trusted to own and operate the NBN and share it fairly with competitors. This would simply replicate the existing problems. So an entirely new network was proposed, relegating Telstra to the role of retailer while NBN Co acted as wholesaler and offered equal access to all internet service providers. We'd finally have what Telstra feared most: a level playing field.

The Coalition has made it clear that if it wins government on Saturday it intends to scale back the NBN and use a mix of technologies to reach Australian homes. Running fibre to every home would obviously be the preferable solution, but I'm open to some discussion on that issue because, as I said, rolling out fibre isn't the primary purpose of the NBN. The bigger concern is that Malcolm Turnbull makes it clear in The Australian today that he's open to the idea of letting competing telcos build different parts of the NBN – allowing them to cherry-pick the profitable suburbs while making it harder for NBN Co to sustain the network in less profitable areas. If you don't live in the inner city, then this plan should make you quite nervous.

Turnbull's plan is exactly the kind of thinking that got us into this mess in the first place. To make matters worse, you can be sure that Telstra will be the telco to cherry-pick the best areas and then hamper efforts by competitors to reach those customers. Anyone who thinks that regulators like the ACCC will ensure all ISPs get a fair deal clearly hasn't been paying attention for the last few decades. We're talking about a regulator which seems genuinely surprised when the price of petrol goes up every long weekend. Telstra's promises of structural separation mean little when it's already broken those rules as part of the NBN roll out, letting its retail arm access sensitive information regarding competing telcos. UPDATE: Telstra has already broken the structural separation rules seven times this year, granting its retail arm access to sensitive information about competitors. Promises from Turnbull to enforce these rules don't fill me with confidence.

Australia's current broadband system is fundamentally flawed. It's not about download speeds or connection technologies, it's about one powerful player abusing that power to the detriment of us all. Market forces and regulation have failed. The only way to fix the problem is to take away Telstra's power, one way or another.

If Turnbull and the Abbott government let Telstra cherry-pick the most profitable parts of the NBN then we'll be back where we started, having wasted billions of dollars without actually addressing the real problem. If Turnbull has his way, Telstra will hold Australia to ransom for another 30 years.


Here's the first gigantic cock up. Discuss. Before you do, read this: http://www.malcolmturnbull.com.au/media/coalitions-policy-for-e-government-and-the-digital-economy#.UkaOBT8XHPo

How do they expect to accomplish this with the cobbled together infrastructure they are proposing?? Never mind, someone will figure it out down the track I'm sure.

This is worth a read as well: http://www.malcolmturnbull.com.au/media/our-nbn-policy#.UkaPsz8XHPo

Especially the comments. I tend to agree with this one:

Julian Robinson on 13th September 2013 at 10:44am

Malcolm it is simply disingenuous to say that the election was an expression of approval by the electorate for your version of the NBN. The election was a vote to get rid of Kevin Rudd and the Coalition didn't win it on *anything* other than your effective dismantling of public goodwill towards the Labor Government, despite what it might feel like from the inside. Labor lost it because of a delusional PM and his years of destabilisation while apparently working for the Coalition. There is no 'mandate' for your NBN (just look at polls that ask the question), just as there is no mandate for your ridiculous climate change policy.

[Ugly Mongrel]

I just watched Tony Abbott on the ABC news refusing to answer questions from the media about the latest asylum seeker boat tragedy. Stony silence....not a word from our PM.

Not even an expression of sympathy for those who lost their lives. Goose.

Maybe Scott Morrison can tell us all about it at his next weekly update.