On pork barrelling
Mitchell Holmes writes: Re. “Is the Coalition pork barrelling in rural electorates?” (yesterday). Party politicians may keep score on every issue and accuse the other side of pork barreling as often as they can. However on the issue of money spent to improve mobile coverage in rural and remote areas, Crikey has decided to sink the boot in as well. Very simply, mobile coverage (and internet coverage) is poor in many regional areas, let alone rural and remote. These services for some years have been a necessity, not a luxury, for both businesses and households. The Atherton Tablelands, less than 80km from Cairns has patchy mobile and internet coverage. One of the biggest effects of this is that data allowances on plans are far smaller and more expensive than in the big cities. In this case, more money spent on essential services for regional areas is not pork barrelling.
On the republic debate
Niall Clugston writes: Re. “Let’s get real about the republican movement” (yesterday). Adrian Jackson is exaggerating the size of the republican defeat in 1999. The proposal received 45.13% of the vote, which makes it the closest referendum since 1984. It is also worth bearing in mind that it was a unique referendum in that the government of the day did not support it.
Advancing Australia where?
Mungo MacCallum writes: Re. “On the national anthem” (yesterday). Jock Webb is only partly right. My first 78 record featured Peter Dawson singing Advance Australia Fair, but the Gallant Cook was in fact the first verse: the current second verse stood, and the Australians all verse was the third and last. Britain always came top.
Goodness Mungo, what a troubled childhood.
While ever Telstra announces a profit of $4.23 billion (Aug 2015) I am not sure why the tax payer should be pitching in $100 million to extend coverage. Something about privatise the profits and socialise the losses?
Is it possible that somewhere on Crikey you can run a story explaining that the 2000 Republic Referendum was thrashed so badly it didn’t even win in one State, let alone the four needed to be carried.
Hopefully that might persuade Niall Clugston et al to stop misleading paying subscribers by rabbiting on about how “close” the result was.
This situation arises from selling Telstra (and the nation’s communications infrastructure). I think it’s essential that there be no blackspots, but it can’t occur while ever our comms are in private hands.
For the money the taxpayer pays Telstra et al our government should at least demand that much equity. If that were to occur for every government handout, it might not be long before the comms is back in government hands where it belongs. The only thing we then need is a sensible government, but that’s another huge problem which doesn’t look like being resolved any time soon.
Telstra’s regional coverage is generally excellent, it’s just that you can’t get any other provider, all of which are several times better value for money.