NBN rollout; the government’s failed border protection policies: Tony Abbott interview with Tim Webster, Radio 2UE

03/01/12

TRANSCRIPT OF THE HON. TONY ABBOTT MHR,

INTERVIEW WITH TIM WEBSTER,

RADIO 2UE, SYDNEY

Subjects: NBN rollout; the government’s failed border protection policies.

E&OE……………………….…………………………………………………………………

TIM WEBSTER:

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott is on his way to the cricket and he joins me on the line. G’day.

TONY ABBOTT:

Hello, Tim.

TIM WEBSTER:

On your way to the cricket? Pink tie on, I’m told.

TONY ABBOTT:

Yes, Tim. Look, it’s the McGrath Foundation test and so I think it’s appropriate to show solidarity with the Jane McGrath Foundation and the fight against breast cancer so I’m here, pink tie complete.

TIM WEBSTER:

Good on you. Now, on the NBN, I have to say it doesn’t surprise me. There were a few of us, me included, who were questioning it from the beginning – not only on the technology side of it, but the money side of it and obviously the chickens are coming home to roost.

TONY ABBOTT:

Dead right. Look, the more we learn about this National Broadband Network the worse it gets and the news today that there are about 2,500 fibre subscribers and about 1,500 wireless subscribers just confirms that this is going to be one of the all time great white elephants. Vast amounts of money spent, $50 billion-plus and going up all the time, to give us something that most people don’t want, don’t need and don’t want to pay more for and the interesting thing, Tim, is that there is about 1,000 people working for the NBN. That’s one employee for every four subscribers and the average wage of the NBN is $155,000. Now, this is the best remunerated company in Australia and one person earning $155,000 a year for every four subscribers and the billion dollars that they have spent so far on the rollout works out at $250,000 per connection. So, by any measure, this is a monumental rip-off. It’s yet another sign this is a Government which is utterly incompetent and just can’t be trusted when it comes to spending taxpayers’ money.

TIM WEBSTER:

Look, on the fair dinkum side of it. I mentioned to the listeners – I mean I don’t think my family is very unusual – we’ve got a couple of computers at home, a laptop, an iPad, we’re wireless, quite happy with the speed, quite happy with the service and people will shop around, Tony, that’s the thing and you will get the best deal. You won’t go to the NBN just because it’s the government’s organisation, will you?

TONY ABBOTT:

Well, exactly right. In fact, many people I think will shun the NBN precisely because it is the government organisation and say, well, why do deals with a dodgy government? But look, everyone is connected these days. We live in a linked up world but more and more people are using wireless. Now, fibre has an important place…

TIM WEBSTER:

Certainly, yeah.

TONY ABBOTT:

…obviously the base stations which are so important in our telecommunications networks are all linked up by fibre but that’s happening anyway. It didn’t need the NBN to happen. All the NBN is doing is slowly digging up streets to connect fibre to 93 per cent of Australian households whether they need it, want it or can afford to pay extra for it and that’s why it is such a monumental waste of money and such a misdirection of resources.

TIM WEBSTER:

Yeah, look, and criticising it is one thing – we can all do that and we’ve done it ever since it was mooted – but what can you do about it if you attain government? Is it hard to wind back? It will be there by then, won’t it?

TONY ABBOTT:

No, there will be some infrastructure there, no doubt about that but there will be nothing like a national network. For instance, the rollout is massively behind schedule. There are supposed to be 35,000 subscribers now. There are 4,000 subscribers. The build is much slower than expected. So, I think that it will be an embryonic network at best, even in two years time. Our position, Tim, is that we want to see the best possible broadband services. We do think that Government does have to spend some money here in areas where the market isn’t working, but what we won’t do is throw good money after bad when it comes to the NBN.

TIM WEBSTER:

Yeah and I have to say, you probably won’t criticise one of your shadow ministers but Malcolm Turnbull should be shouting from the rooftops about this. We’re not hearing much from him.

TONY ABBOTT:

I don’t think that’s entirely fair, Tim. I think Malcolm is shouting from the rooftops. I think most of the stories that we see in the papers about the NBN have been inspired by Malcolm and the research work that he and his office are doing. So, I have to say that the fact that the NBN has gone from being a public relations positive for the Government twelve months or so back, to a massive public relations disaster for the Government is a tribute to Malcolm’s effective political work.

TIM WEBSTER:

Alright now listen, while I’ve got you, how are the talks going with Julia Gillard regarding offshore processing? Look, I’m reading the newspapers today – you’ve probably read them about what’s going on in Curtin. I mean, goodness me, Tony, we’ve got asylum seekers going off to play cricket and getting on day release because we’re worried about them getting hot. The nearest riot police are 2,000 kilometres away in Perth. I mean the whole thing is just a bloody disaster.

TONY ABBOTT:

Well, it’s another shambles from the Gillard Government. Look, we’ve had a very consistent policy, Tim, for more than a decade. We think that it’s vital that the boats be stopped and we think that the policies that were proven to work under the Howard Government need to be put back in place and there’s no one single policy that will work but offshore processing at Nauru and at Manus Island, temporary protection visas so that the people smugglers can’t sell people permanent residency in Australia and, very importantly, the option of turning boats around where it’s safe to do so on the high seas. This is the way to stop them and we don’t like Malaysia, we never have, it’s a dud deal. No serious government enters into such a one-sided arrangement. There’s something like 3,000 illegal boat people who have arrived since the Malaysia deal was first announced, completely swamping the 800 that the Malaysians initially agreed to take. So, look, if the Government wants us to agree to Malaysia I’m afraid it’s talking to the wrong people. If it wants Malaysia it should be talking to its coalition partners, the Greens.

TIM WEBSTER:

Yeah, well I did say last week if I were advising you, purely on a PR level – and tell me why you wouldn’t agree to Malaysia if they agreed to Nauru just to get this thing underway. Why wouldn’t you do that?

TONY ABBOTT:

Because our job is not to make a weak compromise with a bad government. Our job is to promote the policies that we think work. Now, where the Government is doing good things, we will give them every support. If they want to reopen Nauru and if they think that needs legislation, we will give them enthusiastic support – we’ll pass it through the parliament in a matter of hours. But where they want to do bad things, we’ll oppose them. That’s our job.

TIM WEBSTER:

Good on you. Enjoy the cricket and have a good day.

TONY ABBOTT:

Thank you so much, Tim.