Telstra slams 'pillaging' PM
- The Age 30/9/2007
"TELSTRA will urge its army of 1.6 million mum-and-dad
shareholders to vent their anger at the Howard Government,
with a new direct-mail campaign to arrive in letterboxes
this week."
Would they need much urging when the T2 buyers who
had been encouraged by the tories to buy Telstra shares,
have watched their value drop?
When politicians pushing their privatization barrow
act like financial advisors they have to wear the blame.
"As Prime Minister John Howard prepares to call an election
for late November, the provocative letter to shareholders
will further enrage Government ministers already furious
at Telstra's perceived political interference."
B^D How ironic, Telecom was once government controlled,
a national asset, a vector for providing world class
infrastructure to the entire nation, and generate a
Billion dollars a year into consolidated revenue.. now
it's another tory created shambles and we have the shitttiest
broadband in the Western world, and most of Asia!
"Telstra and the Government have been at war since
American-born chief executive Sol Trujillo arrived in 2005."
But clearly it is more than a personality clash,
even FORMER tory ministers are pissed of at Coonan's
utter incompetence and the directionless tories:
"Relations between Telstra chairman Donald McGauchie
ق once a Howard Government favourite ق and Communications
Minister Helen Coonan have also soured to the point that
some describe as "mutual loathing".
Telstra believes it is over-regulated."
BWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAAHAHAAA!
For those of us who saw this coming, it is not surprising
that the governments band-aids and lash-ups have failed
to stem the decline of a once-great centre of innovation.
It's quite simple, and was quite predictable BEFORE privatization
was pushed for IDEOLOGICAL, not economic reasons.
Australia has traditionally been capital poor, and being
geographically vast, private infrastructure development has
NEVER met our needs. Either government builds national
infrastructure, or heavily subsidises the private profits
of (often foreign owned) multinationals.
The rural constituency knew that if the government sold
Telstra, the internal cross-subsidization, where high-
volume trunks help pay for remote rural services, would
cease. Shareholders want PROFIT MAXIMIZATION, $, not a
national telecommunications infrastructure (which has
all the secondary farming, land management health
and education delivery and defence benefits that don't
show up in returns to shareholders)
As we know now, it can be more cost effective to help
farmers survive than to give them $150,000 handouts
to walk off the land, and then pay someone else to
manage the land (weed, pest, feral and fire control)
So the privatization deal became a CAMEL, it had
'service obligations' stitched on. Telstra had to
agree to (at least pretend, or go through the motions)
some basic rural services support... but their heart
was never in it, and we all know what that means for
service quality. It was the worst of public/private.
Ever since, Telstra has been Whining (truthfully?) that
it can't afford the sort of infrastructure renewal that
Telecom managed, while lugging the 'service obligations'
that telecom also managed. ;-)
So we haven't had high-speed broadband, thanks to Coonan
and Howard's Digital Disaster backwater.
http://www.geocities.com/wmds_r_us/digital_disaster.htm
"Telstra executives have also angered the Government
by supporting Labor leader Kevin Rudd's plan to build
a $4-billion fibre-optic broadband network."
Well the tories have dropped the ball on Broadband, as
they have with infrastructure generally. Opportunities
created by Keatings economic reforms have been squandered
by Rip Van Winston and the slumbering tories.
http://www.geocities.com/wmds_r_us/climate_coma.htm
"The latest letter to shareholders slams the Government's
regulatory approach and will arrive in the next few days
with the company's annual report."
As with the AWA disaster, business has been let down badly by
both tory inaction and poorly thought out policy-on-the-run meddling
"Shareholders will also get a "Shareholder Survey on Public Policy
Issues" that, through the questions it asks, is critical of the
Government's decision to award a $958 million regional broadband tender
to Optus and Elders."
Hey, they are simply admitting that Optus being government owned
and controlled (By the far sighted Government of SINGAPORE who
have what Howard lacks, VISION!!) can do what Howard's privatized
fuck up CAN'T MANAGE!!! B^p
It would be funny if it wasn't a fucking NATIONAL TRAGEDY!
And as with AWA's the incompetent tories keep changing the
goalposts for business, there is no certainty, just costly
confusion and disarray;
"In the letter from the Telstra board, the company complains
that the Government has "in its wisdom" decided to impose a
licence condition on Telstra requiring it to maintain its
CDMA network. Telstra argues that its new 3G national mobile
broadband network will be running by January 28 and that it
should be able to then shut down the CDMA network.
"The imposition of this new licence condition is another
example of the Government showing disregard for sound,
pro-consumer and pro-investment public policy," the letter says.
"That's why Telstra will explore legal options to reduce these new
Government-imposed burdens on consumers and Telstra shareholders."
In bold type the letter demands that shareholders decide who has the
better approach: Telstra or the Government.
"The Government approach ق with the Attorney-General making
the decision little more than 24 hours after receiving
decision-making responsibility ق creates additional red
tape and compliance costs for Telstra shareholders,
fosters uncertainty in the marketplace, and wastes taxpayers' money."
While business was accurately assessing the governments
costly incompetence, the typical tory response was to
to make surly personal attacks and attempt to smear
the messenger;
Earlier this month Ms Coonan challenged Mr Trujillo and
Telstra's group managing director for public policy,
Phil Burgess, to run for ALP preselection."
Coonan is pathetic, for a government minister to
throw such petulant hissy fits when her failure
to develop and implement national telecommunications
infrastructure is manifest to everyone, is a scandal!
What is clear about tory arrogance is that they think
the Australian public shares their ideological Class
War thinking that supporting another political party,
or, {shock horror}, having democratically elected
workers representatives.. is some kind of crime,
and people can be tainted by innuendo that they are one!?
Never mind the fact that it is DISHONEST!
"Mr Burgess hit back yesterday, accusing the Government
of trying to stymie democracy and maintaining that Telstra
was trying to stand up for shareholders."
"We need to make shareholders aware that they have been
pillaged by this Government's policies, and had their
pockets picked by the regulator (the Australian
Competition and Consumer Commission)," Mr Burgess said.
"We are strongly committed to shareholder rights." He said
shareholders needed to know that a significant part of their
market was being dismantled and turned over to a foreign government.
"And when shareholders do find out, and they realise that a
consortium dominated by a foreign government has been given
1 billion taxpayer dollars, they don't like it."
It's not certain the voters will be any happier! B^[
"Senator Coonan's spokesman, Frank Peppard, sought to play
down perceptions of a fight between the Government and Telstra.
"Telstra is entitled to make what comments it likes on
public policy," Mr Peppard said."
This is the tiredest old croc the government trots out
when it is slammed by some major Australian institution!
"They have a democratic right" is not the fucking issue..
the issue is that their CRITICISMS ARE RIGHT!!!! B^D
And this sort of feeble, evasive cop out just won't cut it!
The tories are not addressing the concerns of the business
sector any better than they are addressing the concerns of the
rural sector, workers, homeowners with mortages, students
needing tertiary education, people who can't afford private
health care's exorbitant rates, persecuted ethnic minorities,
aboriginals, women who need child care, everyone living near
a tory Nuke site or waste dump, and decent folk.
The tories are in complete denial:
"There are no problems for the Government there; we have
no issue with that."
And that's it! Their only response to criticism is to
either DENY there is a problem, or blame someone else for it!?
"We also believe that the Telstra board has a responsibility
to do the best they can for shareholders, but at the end of
the day the Government has to make decisions in the interest
of the whole market and we don't want anybody left behind
when it comes to mobile phone coverage, broadband or fixed lines.
"Telstra is acting in the interests of 1.6 million shareholders.
We are acting in the interests of 20 million shareholders."
The difference is that Telstra IS taking action in their interests
and the government is JUST PUTTING ON AN ACT!
"Mr Peppard said the Government was fully aware that Telstra was
trying to stir public opinion in the lead-up to an election."
Then it must be shitting itself, 'cos it is working!!!!!
"Of course that is why they are so active now,
Sounds like the government describing it's own behaviour! B^D
Again, the difference is Telstra has been active ALL THE TIME,
it just so happens the election looms, while the government
has only started it's 'ACT' because the election is looming;
Billions spent on taxpayer funded party propaganda campaigns,
pork-barelling, and the sudden 'discovery' of issues they have
ignored for decades...
"and in that respect they are just being a lobbyist like any other
group. It's not a problem."
No .. no problem there at all.. B^D
Like Lemmings who haven't kept up with parachute technology! B^D
---------
Prime Minister Rip Van Winkle;
"Well, I don't, I, I, I, I don't know. I, I mean, I, I "
- John Howard asked about his plans.
Sure John we will all just go get a coffee while
you find your mind and then make it up! B^D
http://www.geocities.com/wmds_r_us/climate_coma.htm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGqTayhu5QM
"After a successful few years as a junior minister in
Malcolm Fraser's government, Howard was promoted to
treasury, where his five years in the job can only
be judged as an unmitigated failure.
Take a look at the statistics.
When Howard left the treasury in March 1983, the
budget deficit was forecast at $9.6 billion, inflation
was 11 per cent, unemployment was 10.2 per cent,
the economy was in recession with negative
0.4 per cent growth, and housing interest rates
were 13 per cent.
And, despite the 1982-83 recession being the worst
since the Great Depression, Howard still managed to
increase the federal tax take from 25.1 per cent of
GDP in 1977 to 27.5 per cent of GDP by 1982-83.
Howard then spent 13 years in opposition, during
which - when he wasn't leader himself - he spent
a lot of time conspiring against the three leaders
he served under: Andrew Peacock, John Hewson and
Alexander Downer."
---------
"THE polls show John Howard is likely to be beaten
by Labor, now under its sharpest leader in a decade.
Facing defeat, the Prime Minister yesterday changed
not only his team but its tone." -Andrew Bolt 24/1/2007
http://www.geocities.com/wmds_r_us/team_howard.htm
http://www.geocities.com/wmds_r_us/howard_backs_costello.htm
http://www.geocities.com/wmds_r_us/trust_me.htm
http://www.geocities.com/wmds_r_us/team_lieberal.htm
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