from politicoz ….

The Liberal Party will be unsurprised by the mass resignation of the NBN Co’s board.

As shadow minister for communications, Malcolm Turnbull spent much of his time criticising the board’s composition and conduct. He blamed it for cost blowouts and delays. He thought it “remarkable that such a large board doesn’t have anyone with hands-on experience in building a telecommunications network or running one”. Its fate had long been sealed.

But a mass walkout, as splashed by the Age and the Sydney Morning Herald this morning, again puts the Coalition’s NBN policy on the front pages. This is not always a comfortable place for it to be. The Coalition’s communications policy – complete with an errant and now deleted internet filter – was the Coalition’s one major policy stumble during the campaign. The effectiveness of its proposed fibre-to-the-node network remains in question.

Last week, the Age reported that Telstra did not know the condition of millions of copper wires relied upon as part of the Coalition’s plan. Faults had increased from 13% to 18% since 2006–07. By admission of the man renegotiating Telstra’s contract with the government, the copper network may only last another three years. Details on the cost of maintenance have not been released.

The NBN was Labor’s great nation-building project. In Opposition, the network’s difficulties seemed a gift for the Coalition. In government, they may yet become a curse.