My Telstra Hobby Horse

Isn't it great to see another independent voice in the Senate? One from the government ranks, that is. Barnaby Joyce is the fox among the coallition hens as he threatens to cross the floor over Telstra (among other issues).

Barnaby's demand for a $5 billion fund to get his vote may seem like a good idea, but won't buy the bush modern communications for the long term. Telstra senior management have made it plain they don't want the responsibility. The money will eventually run out, and the bush will be again disadvantaged as the privatised company goes for profit over service provision.

Over the past year, I've been banging on about the only sensible solution to the Telstra privatisation impass. The company should be split along retail and wholesale lines. A dedicated remote region telecommunications infrastructure company would be a much better vehicle for the government to regulate, and fund from a levy on country wide telecommunications, to ensure services in the bush are maintained.