Visionary or White Elephant?

The Federal Labour government are proposing that we spend $43 billion on the National Broadband Network (NBN). It is a being promoted as a Nation Building project that will increase the productivity of Australia and lead us into the 21st Century. Is this fact or fiction?
I pride myself on the fact that I am a bit of a technical Luddite (by the way, the Luddites were a social movement of British textile artisans in the nineteenth century who protested – often by destroying mechanized looms – against the changes produced by the Industrial Revolution, which they felt was leaving them without work and changing their way of life) so I am not really impressed when people start discussing current speeds, data downloads (and uploads for that matter) and fibre optic cable. However, I acknowledge that to retain our status in the real world some areas of our economy require much faster broadband speeds.
But for me to really determine whether the NBN is a good idea or not I would like to see a fully researched Business Plan.
Unfortunately, a Business Plan has not been established for the NBN (well it sort of has but the government won’t let us see it). I assume this is due to a couple of reasons, one being the uncertainty of who will avail themselves of this new technology and also ultimately what it will cost. There is little doubt that when a government (of any political persuasion) is involved in large projects there appears to be cost blow outs due to overarching bureaucracy and the temptation for people involved to simply increase their prices.
New technology is currently being developed at a very rapid pace. A pace that has probably never been seen before. We cannot forget, however, the lessons of the past. New technology always results in over investments (think railway lines is the late 19th century) and wasteful spending. I also acknowledge that people will raise the Snowy Mountains Hydro project of an example of a large infrastructure Nation Building project but the facts show that the cost of the Snowy Hydro Scheme adjusted for inflation was only $6 billion (in 2004).
So I would suggest that we slow down on the project and have an honest and open discussion about the costs, the benefits and threats before we embark on what could be an expensive mistake. Some people have likened the NBN to a 4 lane highway. What we have to remember is that not every house in Australia needs a 4 lane Highway to their front door.
Julian McLaren is a Representative of the Shadforth Financial Group (AFS Licence No. 318613) Julian may be contacted on 69317488. This is general advice and readers should seek their own professional advice in regards to their individual circumstances