The Rudd Government seems to have done something appropriate, and we should be getting a top of the line model for broadband. Fibre to the Premises should break the twisted copper grip Telstra has on fast internet. It might also open the door to wider use of microwave and satellite internet.
At the coast we use satellite, happy not to deal with the phone companies on that one. We’re working on getting rid of the electric company as well, as they charge $1 per day access fee, whether or not anyone is using electricity.
At the moment, I am in the middle of the north island of New Zealand, in an expensive internet cafe, because the libraries’ terminals are down. And who knows for how long? Someone wandered into this cafe looking to buy a dial up modem, and the shop keeper looked at her patronizingly. There is a long dashhound wandering around, but I don’t think he is the owner.
Everything in New Zealand is beautiful and quiet and slow, but pleasant. Like Canberra on tranquilisers. For that matter, it’s like Moruya on sedatives. And I love it! I come every year to check out my little cottage on a lake, and this time it means doing some gardening.
Lakes in NZ are like beaches in Australia, and the beach cottage morphs into a ‘bach’ which is like a beach house, only smaller and more humble. Mine has a ‘chippie’ to make hot water in the winter, and a big wood burning fireplace. The sun is shining, and the tiny town (you can google ‘Mangakino’) has about 200 permanent residents. The rest are holiday owners, a slow transition that has been happening since the town was sold to a developer by the Maoris. Now the blocks are slowly being made freehold, and change is afoot. The shops have been redone, the community pool is open, and there are powerboats in summer on the lake. There is even a lakeside cafe for hot chips and burgers.
The garden in my little cottage has been let go since the tenants moved out, but I harvested some big fat green peppers and lots of tomatoes. The Lakeside Village has grapes ripe and dripping from the fence.
For me, New Zealand is a land of milk and honey. And green! Parochial, a bit behind Australia with the technology, but beautiful and full of pleasant people. And at least here in Tokoroa, there is broadband aplenty. Hp Hp Hooray for Kiwi country!
April 14, 2009 | Ronda Jambe
Hp, Hp Hooray for FttP!
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Who will be able to pay for the you-beaut broadbant with speeds nobody needs – unless they run a business needing internet communicaton?
As Turnbull said today, Rudd doesn’t even have a business plan. If you went to a bank to get finance for a pie cart without a business plan, wouldn’t get the money!
Comment by Leigh — April 14, 2009 @ 2:32 pm
Who will be able to pay for the you-beaut broadband with speeds nobody needs – unless they run a business needing internet communicaton?
As Turnbull said today, Rudd doesn’t even have a business plan. If you went to a bank to get finance for a pie cart without a business plan, you wouldn’t get the money!
Comment by Leigh — April 14, 2009 @ 2:33 pm
Yes Leigh lets go back to Howard and do nothing for the next 20 yrs like he did nothing for the past 11.
Stick to your right wing raves,and pray for Cossie to come and save your sorry right wing Liberal arse,then watch has he goes down as well,I welcome it no more Telstra,no more slow internet great.
Comment by John Ryan — April 15, 2009 @ 12:37 am
A business plan is certainly necessary, and I see the community groups working on climate change missing opportunities to grab one.
But nation building for what looks to be a very challenging century also requires a plan, and there is a chicken and egg argument for putting in infrastructure. However, it also requires incentives (sometimes this means removal of disincentives) for the creative industries and business functions that can use fast internet to the max.
As a movie lover, I look forward to true video on demand, taken from the worlds’ most complete database of all movies, delivered quickly per view to my home screen, for an appropriate price. Now that should incentivise somebody, and also take some cars off the road driving to pick up a DVD. Just one idea, of course.
Comment by Ronda Jambe — April 15, 2009 @ 9:41 am
John Ryan,
You did pretty well while Howard was doing ‘nothing’. The first thing the next Coalition Government will have to do get rid of the deficit that will be left by Rudd – just as they always have to do after economically illiterate Labor governments.
Australia has never had is so good as we did under the Coaltion, and even your hero has proclaimed that the current global problem is no fault of Australia’s.
But, your personal insults – even though you know nothing about my personal ideas nor how I vote (neither major party last election) – show that you don’t understand anything about anything.
Comment by Leigh — April 15, 2009 @ 2:24 pm
John Ryan,
You did pretty well while Howard was doing ‘nothing’. The first thing the next Coalition Government will have to do get rid of the deficit that will be left by Rudd – just as they always have to do after economically illiterate Labor governments.
Australia has never had is so good as we did under the Coaltion, and even your hero has proclaimed that the current global problem is no fault of Australia’s.
But, your personal insults – even though you know nothing about my personal ideas nor how I vote (neither major party last election) – show that you don’t understand anything about anything.
Comment by Leigh — April 15, 2009 @ 2:25 pm
A much nicer response that John Ryan’s, Ronda. Many people think that fast broadband is a good idea, but at what price your movies?
Initial estimates are $150 plus per month for them to get their money back.
I think I would prefer to continue walking up the hill to my local DVD hire outlet.
Not that there’s much worth seeing, lately, but I could be in the minority on that too.
Comment by Leigh — April 15, 2009 @ 2:33 pm
This is very informative.
Comment by A Wong — April 16, 2009 @ 12:13 am
Rhonda it’s not only phone companies and utilities we need to protect ourselves from. Include Social Democratic Governments as well. Ours in Queensland is going to have us bathe in, cook with and drink our own and others excretment and other less organic toilet waste.
I have 450 litre storage in my boat tanks and will fill up with clean water with a quick sail up or down the coast every month or so.
Comment by Keith — April 18, 2009 @ 4:56 pm
Keith,
I would not drink recycled sewer water or hospital waste in a fit. Who wants to wait for the first stuff up to hit the press, complete with dead babies, a la melamine scandal?
Governments of all stripes have dropped the ball on managing common resources for public outcomes, in favour of the growth mantra.
My mantra is that soon enough, the catch phrase ‘It’s the economy, stupid’, will be replaced by the wide public understanding that it really is the environment, and we have all been stupid.
Comment by ronda Jambe — April 20, 2009 @ 8:37 am
Let’s get some facts right.In 1995 the Coalition were left with a deficit of $98 billion.In todays money this would be at least $200 billion plus inerest.In 12 yrs we would have paid off a total of $400 billion or $80,000.00 for every household.Regardless of their foibles the Coalition have the discipline to do the right thing.
The British people at the moment have a Govt debt of Aus $110,000.00 ,for every household.
We would be going into this recession as bad if not worse condition,if Labor were still in power.Kevin is currently bailing all the failed Labor States and this is just rewarding waste and stupidity.
You can call the Coalition a lot of things,but they are not economic vandals
Comment by Arjay — April 20, 2009 @ 9:11 pm
Well, Arjay, some would say selling off Telstra in the first place was economic vandalism. If the phone profits were put into sensible, economic infrastructure we wouldn’t need a national broadband project. Ditto the selling off of the Commonwealth Bank (by Labor), which could have made provided good mortgages.
And some would say the biggest economic vandalism is the sell out to the coal industry, which has kept all Australian governments beholden to them, rather than facing the future, which does not include their product.
Comment by ronda jambe — April 21, 2009 @ 7:52 am
Now Rhonda,if you do your homework ,you’ll find that most of these infrastructure projects are State Govt responsibilities,ie roads,dams,electricity,transport etc.
Keating should not have sold off the Commonwealth Bank.This would have kept the bastards honest.Telstra should have been sold off with the Govt keeping the infrastructure and collecting the rent.Telstra will be soon be replaced by the internet.
I don’t like the fact the John Howard sucked up to George Bush,but also is Kevin to Obama.
Sell outs? We have progressively sold out our country to all manner of charletons.Both Labor
and Liberal are guility of this sin.
Comment by Arjay — April 21, 2009 @ 11:38 pm