An Average Politician - Tony Abbott MP

I quote from Annabel Crabb's post on "The Drum".

• On ABC's Lateline in November last year, with Tony Jones, Mr Abbott.... "when asked about his direct knowledge of the climate change issue, Mr Abbott told Jones that he had not read the IPCC report on global warming, and that he had started but not finished Ian Plimer's famous book on the subject.
• "No, I don't claim to have immersed myself deeply in those subjects," he told Jones.
• "I'm a politician. I have to rely on briefings - I have to rely on what I pick up through the secondary sources. But look, I think I am as well-versed on these matters as your average politician needs to be."

Quote of the year, I think.

Mr Abbott is just that - an average politician.

Australia needs better than that.

As Annabel Crabb says:

• "But Tony Abbott is - through his change of heart on this issue and his subsequent annexing of Coalition policy, which until his dislodging of Malcolm Turnbull had been to support a compromise ETS - personally responsible for the fact that Australia does not have a carbon trading scheme.
• "When the consequences of personal decisions are so profound, these decisions demand deeper research."

Australia also needs better than average "Broadband speeds", Mr Abbott.

Broadband policies are night and day

ADELE FERGUSON writing in "The Age" Business Day tells it like it really is, on the Broadband "debate" (or "non-debate" from Tony Abbott)

August 11, 2010

Source: http://www.theage.com.au/business/telco-policies-are-night-and-day-but-just-one-has-a-bright-future-20100810-11y8m.html

The Coalition's proposal to spend $750 million fixing the problems on the copper network is seven times more than it proposed to spend on the network when it was last in government.

This is throwing good money after bad because the copper doesn't need fixing - it needs replacing.

The two telecommunications policies are as different as night and day.

The Labor Party's $43 billion policy is extremely expensive but is all about building a network that will be the backbone of Australia for the next 50 years,

much like the copper-wire network was for the past 100 years. It is also about creating a level playing field for competitors by busting up Telstra's monopoly over the network.

The endgame is to create high-speed broadband to drive a service-based economy for the future.

The Coalition's policy is about tarting up what we have and making promises that its network will be capable of what the Gillard government's policy guarantees - speeds at 100 megabits per second.

This is nigh on impossible.

If you didn't see Tony's abysmal performance on the 7:30 Report, check it out here.

He kept repeating "I'm no Tech head".

Really, Tony?

You surprise me.

Its not that hard. Even to the mathematically challenged,. 100 units is bigger (faster) than 12 units, whether they be Megabits per second, or whatever.

For those not frightened of fast speed talk, check out this analysis on "Good Gear Guide"