small minded Politicians at their Worst
AUTHOR: Peter Dunne
I am sick and tired of small minded politicians whose pursuit of a headline gets in the way of the best policies for New Zealand. Earlier this week, John Key announced a National government would invest $1.5 billion in rolling out broadband to every New Zealand home. Everywhere I go, people grizzle to me about how slow our broadband is, or about the fact they are still using dial-up internet. Why can’t we have a decent broadband service, they ask? Yet when John Key announces a plan, the response from Labour, New Zealand First, and Act is universal and total criticism. Yes, Key’s plan is potentially a massive subsidy to Telecom as the network operator. Yes, they have exploited their monopoly to the limit over the years. Yes, maybe this is type of infrastructural investment is best left to the private sector. They might all be legitimate criticisms of the Key proposal. But nowhere have I heard any of the critics put an alternative idea of how to roll out broadband nationwide in a timely and efficient manner. And nowhere have I seen any signs of interest from the private sector. It reminds me of the old Lloyd George saying, “Everyone wants to go to heaven, but no-one wants to die.” Everyone agrees broadband is a priority, but no-one has put forward any other way of achieving it. Nor have any of them explained why if this is such a great idea the private sector has not leapt at the chance to invest so far. I am not a great fan of massive state investment in things like this, but I know broadband is one of the main tools we need to progress in the future. So, rather than knock National for at last putting forward an idea of its own, I say we should be focusing on the end point we all say we agree on – better broadband. If this is the only way to get there in a timely way, let us go for it. If not, then let us see an alternative plan. Either way, would it not be nice for once to see an end to the bickering, and a focus on getting the job done?