Australia's shadow communications minister has lashed out at the federal government for failing to respond to the credit crisis in its planning for the National Broadband Network (NBN).
Senator Nick Minchin, shadow minister for broadband, communications and the digital economy, said the government's NBN proposal is 'looking increasingly like a cruel and cynical hoax.'
Speaking at the Broadband World Australia 2008 conference in Sydney yesterday, Minchin argued that the incumbent Labor party has not given any indication of the legislative and regulatory arrangements needed for the NBN.
This is particularly significant because dominant operator Telstra has repeatedly threatened not to bid on building the network without an assurance that the government will not impose structural separation.
Labor has also refused to indicate whether the AU$4.7 billion ($3.2 billion) of taxpayer money allocated for the NBN will be provided as equity, debt or a straight subsidy, Minchin said.