A broadband compromise is a good thing

Last week the electorate had to choose between two broadband plans. This week, independent MP Rob Oakeshott says it's not a choice between rock or paper, there can also be scissors.

So what would a third plan look like? There's plenty of merit in considering a hybrid of the Labor and Coalition approach to broadband. The Coalition wants to reduce government investment while still seeing the need for faster, ubiquitous broadband. Labor's National Broadband Network policy has shifted over the last term of office, so what makes them certain they have the ideal plan now? The opportunity for a bipartisan evaluation of where we are headed could be a good thing.

For a start, it might be a chance to cast off the shackles of defending a business case that might not stack up commercially but provides a strong payback to the economy. It might also be an opportunity to look at interim strategies, making best use of available technologies while still heading to a fibre future.

Both major parties have been at loggerheads over the last few years. Across a number of portfolios an idea from the other side was, by default, a bad idea. Maybe this new political future is exactly what the National Broadband Network needed.

On today's Twisted Wire, Paul Budde joins the discussion, along with some sound grabs from other media over the last few days.

Running time: 31 minutes, 46 seconds