Clearly spending $48bn to do it right the first time futureproof 93% of the households for up to 1000mbps was too expensive compared to spending $30bn for a mix of technology with a hard limit of 100mbps and continue to hand Telstra hundreds of billions of dollars for decades to maintain a completely inferior copper network.

We really shouldn't question rusty on this.

prettuy sure he said he was a computer science grad. Or I mis read that . Probably meant he wishes he was .

If he has, his grades must make Tony Abbott's Oxford scores look pretty damn good :lol:

CAPEX and OPEX are concepts that are beyond him.

No, they're becoming increasingly relevant since they've adapted to new technologies. You know, they now have smart boards instead of blackboards and tv's. If you think that technology isn't going to change the world if say your the one who needs to be inspected for brain damage

Edited by 99 Problems: 22/3/2015 12:38:46 AM

It's true. They've adapted to new technologies, but they haven't replaced them, and they never will. theres always going to be classrooms, campuses, libraries and office blocks.

You should question the corporate plan. Clearly the thing was way behind schedule and the cost blow out was going to be tens of billions. Even the 2012 plan predicted to have about 3.5 million homes on the NBN by now yet today we have less than one million (notwithstanding paranoid conspiracy theories about Turnbull slowing the roll out). Anyone who casts a skeptical eye over taxpayer funded projects and isn't completely blinded by mode of technology could see this project had been been completely butchered by Labor and previous naive management. With MTM we get a first class network that will deliver first class services to where it's needed most (schools, hospitals, business parks) and second class services to the rest of the riff raff who we really can't afford to nor merit rolls Royce broadband (such as rural Australia). You can whinge all you want but the previous NBN opened itself up to scrutiny and ridicule caused by its massive target failings, if it was ticking all the boxes we wouldn't be having this discussion.

To support what you're saying, there are at least 2 schools I know of in SA that have gotten rid of their libraries and have moved to digital. The rest are following suit. Of course council, state libraries and the national library will be around for a long time but even they are rapidly changing the services they offer with technology. Paper is still the most cost effective way to archive information and data long term (100 years plus) but this is completely irrelevant to the discussion of course as we're talking about mass consumption of information.

Edited by mcjules: 22/3/2015 09:51:19 AM

[youtube]jWa0WmMo-1Y[/youtube]
This is brilliant :lol:

Still waiting for a reply on your experience in libraries rusty.

-PB

The rest are following suit? Based on two schools? Talk about drawing a long bow.:lol:

I know that most schools have them.

So the government has riled up everyone by trying to close aboriginal communities. Milne has been out spoken again.

The thing is, it costs us 85k per person (sky news $ quote) to maintain the services. There are also high suicide rates, rife unemployment (thus these people are on welfare) and major social issues. How does this get fixed? Do we continue throwing money at these communities because they're aboriginal? Will the government pay to keep anglo-communities open when the mining companies move on? Unlikely.

What a shit storm. Good old racist (sic) abbott.

Pre much

I wonder why he changed his mind?

Then try working in one and seeing how they are changing.

-PB

inb4 ALP are blocking savings measures in the Senate therefore it is still their problem.

-PB

PM Tony Abbott flies on taxpayer-funded jet to Liberal donor’s birthday bash at Huntingdale Golf Club

This story was published: 16 minutes ago March 23, 2015 11:20PM

PRIME Minister Tony Abbott used a taxpayer-funded RAAF plane to fly to Melbourne, where he attended the birthday party of mining millionaire and big Liberal donor Paul Marks.

Mr Abbott joined about 45 people for the birthday party at the exclusive Huntingdale Golf Club on Sunday night.

He started the day in Brisbane and flew to Sydney for the NSW Liberal election campaign launch with Premier Mike Baird before flying with a small group aboard the RAAF VIP plane to Melbourne.

Once he arrived at Huntingdale, the PM shed his tie and mingled with guests, enjoying crayfish and aged Wagyu beef with a glass of chardonnay. He also gave a speech in honour of Mr Marks.

His office defended the use of the VIP plane, with a spokesman advising: “The Prime Minister had other work-related engagements in Melbourne on Sunday. All travel was undertaken within the rules.’’

He did not answer questions on what the work engagements were.

Mr Marks is a major financial supporter of the Liberal Party.

Australian Electoral Commission returns shows he personally donated $250,000 to the federal Liberal Party in 2013-14, while his company, Nimrod Resources Limited, donated a further $500,000.

Mr Marks declined to answer questions about the party, saying “yeah, so?’’ when the Herald Sun contacted him.

“When you have a birthday party it is a private affair. I don’t have any comment about anything,’’ he said.

Assistant Defence Minister Stuart Robert, who is based in Queensland, was also at the intimate gathering. He too gave a speech.

Mr Robert’s spokesman said: “Stuart was at a private function and if he attends a ­private function and there are travel costs involved, he pays for himself. No public money was expended on this private trip.’’

Independent senator Nick Xenophon said the use of the VIP plane was inappropriate if the private function was the primary reason for Mr Abbott’s visit to Melbourne.

“The Prime Minister needs to justify the expense to the Australian taxpayer, and if the justification doesn’t pass the pub test then he or the Liberal Party need to refund the cost of the VIP (plane),’’ he said.

The RAAF maintains several jets for Mr Abbott and senior ministers and VIPs, such as the Governor-General, to use.

The most recent Schedule of Special Purpose flights, which details the costs of the use of the jets, shows it costs about $4000 an hour to run.

The aircraft was used to bring Mr Abbott back to Canberra from Melbourne yesterday morning.

Staff at the Huntingdale Golf Club told the Herald Sun that Mr Abbott was “relaxed and friendly” at the function.

Seafood, including crayfish, featured heavily on the menu, and sparkling wine was circulated with the hors-d’oeuvres.

The club’s waiting staff, including one woman who posed for happy snaps with Mr Abbott and Mr Marks, talked excitedly about meeting the PM.

The golf club remained open to members during the function.

Security provided for Mr Abbott was discreet.

Last August, Mr Abbott was criticised after he told Coalition MPs he was running late because he had to schedule a last-minute visit to the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne to justify taking the VIP plane down for a Liberal Party fundraiser.

ellen.whinnett@news.com.au
http://www.news.com.au/national/victoria/pm-tony-abbott-flies-on-taxpayer-funded-jet-to-liberal-donors-birthday-bash-at-huntingdale-golf-club/story-fnii5sms-1227275585102

SCOTT LUDLAM SHADES DATA RETENTION, NAMEDROPS VPNS, REVEALS BILL SHORTEN'S DIGITS


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The data retention debate rages on in Parliament today, with second reading speeches taking place on the Abbott Government's proposed - and highly controversial - metadata laws.

It's a piece of proposed legislation that has drawn fierce opposition from those who disagree with its purpose - with the media industry in particular a harsh critic. But despite the blanket agreements from the opposition to support the bill which, for better or worse, will see it sail through the Parliamentary process when the time to vote does roll around, that doesn't mean all elected officials are on board.

The Australian Greens in particular have been an adamant opponent of the bill, and in today's Senate proceedings, Senator Scott Ludlam made his thoughts on the matter extremely clear.

Your boy DJ S-Ludz fired off an extremely impassioned speech that railed against the Government and the bill writ large.

Ludlam began by expressing his frustrations with the blanket-nature in which the bills are going to pass, and the lack of broad democratic process that's been involved in the bill's debate.

"This is a bill to entrench a system of passive mass surveillance. It is corrosive of the very freedoms that Governments are elected to protect, and it has no place in a Democracy. And yet, it is a Democratically elected Parliament that is probably about to enact it. Nothing I say in here this afternoon is likely to change the minds or the votes of the Senators from the Liberal, National or Labor parties who will file in here later this week and vote the way they've been told to vote."

But far from simply targeting the Government about the legislation, Ludlam sharpest barbs were saved for the Labor party and their perceived cave-in and lack of opposition in debating and challenging the bill on some of its finer points.

"When Prime Minister Abbott wraps himself in the flag, no matter how much an object of desperate ridicule he's become, that's the signal for the Australian Labor Party to say something earnest about finding the balance, and then to cave in."

"Two words: National Security. [That] is all it takes for the Australian Labor Party to flop into defeated bipartisanship, because they're terrified that the Daily Telegraph will say mean things about them."

However, the really interesting and focused part of the speech (which we've embedded below and is absolutely worth watching all the way through) came when Ludlam began pointing out that, under the bounds of the law, it will remain entirely lawful for people to use VPNs to hide their internet activity, and began pointing out the off-shore services that the Government themselves have been using as of late.

"It is entirely lawful - in fact it's built in to the bill - to circumvent mandatory data retention just by using overseas providers. If you don't want your e-mail records kept under mandatory data retention, go with an overseas provider like GMail, or Yahoo, or Hotmail if that's still around. Use Facebook Messenger. Use Twitter Direct Mail."

"Encryption is not illegal. Private key cryptography, including the very phone apps that Mr. Turnbull is using to orchestrate his takeover of the Prime Minister's Office [is not illegal]. These systems keep no metadata. They leave no trace. They will be completely beyond the reach of this data retention scheme."

"Free services like Tor - The Onion Router that allow you to use the internet anonymously - completely defeat the purpose of a mandatory data retention scheme, and everybody knows this. Virtual Private Networks available at a very reasonable subscription rate make it impossible to tell where in the world you are when you're using the internet. Also not illegal. Anonymity is not illegal. Circumvention is not illegal. And cryptography is not illegal."

"What I'm proposing now is that we take our power back from a Government that quite clearly has drunk the surveillance Kool Aid, even though there is abundant evidence that it will do nothing at all to keep people safe, or to reduce crime."

And if that weren't quite enough in and of itself, Ludlam went a little step further, publicly stating Opposition Leader Bill Shorten's (office's) phone number for people to register their objections to the bill should they feel the need.

"If you have a few moments to spare, call Opposition Leader Bill Shorten. His number is 02 6277 4022."



Like him, hate him, feel entirely ambivalent about him - we're absolutely better off having people like Ludlam in the Senate.

In the words of Swedish hardcore giants Refused - Stay curious. Stay wild. Stay hungry.

You get yours, Senator Scott Ludlam. You. Get. Yours.

http://www.pedestrian.tv/news/arts-and-culture/scott-ludlam-shades-data-retention-namedrops-vpns-/eb8f76aa-3dde-44d0-b7ad-23824d6e24a6.htm

How many of you out there are seriously swinging voters? I'm interested to hear because I vote differently in every election and at each level based on issues I deem significant to me, and I havent voted for the same party consecutively across all levels that I can remember.

Answer is: not enough. Too many people equate their political party to their football team, stick with 'em even when they are terrible.

couldn't agree with this more.=d>

Hilarious coming from one of the biggest LibNat stooges on the thread :lol:

Please provide links to any evidence of this? Oh you can't. I barely posted in here for months. Gave up arguing with the likes of you trying to defend the awful Gillard government.

You have a faultless pattern.



Everything Labor does is wrong, everything LibNat does can be justified.

As for you trying to deflect back at me, I have always railed against bad policy regardless of Party Affiliation.

Labor, Greens and LibNat have all received my criticism over a period of time.

There's nothing wrong with not being a swing voter, if a political party largely aligns with your own ideology then why would you ever change? I wouldn't call myself a swing voter as I rarely agree with the policies of the right wing parties. That's not to say it doesn't happen (fuel excise increase from the last budget I supported). I don't always vote for the same party though.

You don't even live in the state but feel qualified to criticize my view of politics in this state. There would be very few NSW people who'd argue this isn't true. All you need to do is get on a train or drive (or park) on a motorway in peak hour to know that's true.
Federal and State politics are a different animal. State politics is about management, not grand policy statements. Labor failed us in this state. Lack of spending on infrastructure has had the place grind to a standstill. I'm not a fan of selling the power grid off, but I'd rather the state own new train lines and extended motorways than an aging power grid.

Seriously how does this qualify as news? :lol:

Both parties do this and it shows the problem of modern politics.

They have been bought by the big corporations and it is for them who they work for.

Labor copping a royal hammering in the NSW election. Of course they will win a few seats back and try to spin it as a grand victory.