Turnbull's crash course on Asian broadband
Summary: Shadow Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull has embarked on an impromptu tour of broadband facilities and networks throughout the greater Asian region, in what appears to be an effort to keep on the cutting edge of technology as part of the debate about Australia's own National Broadband Network.
Shadow Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull has embarked on an impromptu tour of broadband facilities and networks throughout the greater Asian region, in what appears to be an effort to keep on the cutting edge of technology as part of the debate about Australia's own National Broadband Network (NBN).
The Liberal MP tweeted on Friday that he had spent "a very informative day discussing broadband and telecoms generally" with giant Chinese networking vendor Huawei at its massive manufacturing plant in Shenzhen.
At the facility, Turnbull was met by Huawei's senior corporate vice president and president, government and public affairs, Madam Lifang Chen (who has previously met Victorian IT Minister Gordon Rich-Phillips on the occasion of a partnership with RMIT University), as well as Huawei Australia's chief technical officer Peter Rossi.
Huawei, which recently won a contract worth hundreds of millions of dollars to replace the wireless component of VHA's mobile network, and is rapidly expanding its Australian presence, is understood to have issued a blanket invitation to Turnbull to visit the company in China for a tour.
However, Turnbull's visit to Shenzhen appears to have been more in the nature of a stop-off while in China in general, rather than a dedicated trip with the networking giant.
The MP's office said Turnbull was visiting a number of different countries on the trip, ranging from Hong Kong to Southern China, as well as South Korea and Singapore. South Korea is pursuing its own NBN plans, and Turnbull will meet with officials in the country after communicating his visit to the country's embassy in Australia.
Back in Australia, Turnbull has made headlines over the past week for several reasons, namely, his failed attempts to push through changes in legislation associated with the NBN, as well as continued lengthy criticism of the scheme in general.
However, the MP has also been vocal on the matter of Australia's pending carbon tax, repeating his support for a price on carbon on the ABC's Q&A program, despite the issue being the sticking point that lost him the Liberal leadership to Tony Abbott.
It appears the issue may be on Turnbull's mind overseas. "Whatever you think of nuclear power, a shift from burning coal to nukes in South China would work wonders for Hong Kong air," Turnbull wrote on Twitter on Saturday. "And Shanghai's and Beijing's."
Kick off your day with ZDNet's daily email newsletter. It's the freshest tech news and opinion, served hot. Get it.
Talkback
He's clearly a (relative) progressive, but he's saddled with the job of destroying something he's clearly interested in by his conservative nitwit overlord.
Keating said it best when he said:
"If Tony Abbott ends up the prime minister of Australia, you've got to say, God help us,"
and
"Where is the thought-out position? Turnbull had an articulated, intellectual, moderate, thought-out conservative position," he said. "The fact is that Abbott does not have this."
The frustrating thing is, I respect Turnbull even though he's publicly against the NBN.
He gets caught up in reading The Australian too much, but at least he can have an intelligent debate.
My only hope is that he wins a leadership challenge and changes his public policy on the NBN.
However there's just one small problem. The conservative nitwit overlord seems to do much better in the polls.
I think Turnbull is just not conservative enough for the Liberals base vote. So I'm not sure he will ever make it back to being the leader.
That does NOT mean he is against fiber, its just that (as he has stated in another interview) that his vision of broadband for Australia is one that involves private industry heavily, instead of just ignoring it
Pretty smart move on Abbott's part really. Have someone with some cred in comms bag the NBN incessantly, giving the general populous the impression... well it must be so, Mal knows about this techy stuff.
All the while, those who know shake their heads and wonder if Mal would really make a better leader than Abbott...!
Politics is perception, it would be a "seek and destroy" regardless if Abbot was there or not. Obviously the language that Abbot uses is "strong" and therefore he is creating this perception
As for the short term, Abbot is definitely better leader then Malcolm, although for the long term Malcolm could possibly be better
*so (regardless) of Abbot
Last Election ---> Malcolm as liberal leader = Defeat for labour.
Remember Abbott won the leadership challenge by just one vote (although as Mal said, it may as well have been a landslide).
However, Mal is close.
My prophesy, Malcolm is going OS, to find proof that an NBN is beneficial, so that when he challenges and again becomes Liberal/opposition leader, he will embrace an NBN (obviously not exactly as Labor, but closer to the current Labor plan than the current opposition plan).
Add that to a Republic and I can see the current Lib puppets/NBN naysayers wincing in their own complete embarrassment...LOL!
I truly believe when Rudd was nearing all time preferred PM status, Abbott was voted in to protect Mal and/or Joe from obliteration - as the whipping boy, so to speak!
Thing is, afterwards, Labor imploded and like him and his negativity or not, Abbott rallied the conservatism of many Aussies and almost pulled off the unthinkable, so full credit to him.
But now that the party is over and Abbott's true colours out in the open (including the infamous stunned silence and accompanying head wobble).
Mal is just waiting for the right time...!
A time of nothingness, where we had Telstra and their monopoly, gouging consumers and their wholesale customers/competitors, loving it because they could simply undercut Telstra and look like great guys, even though they were gouging too...?
Look at the feverish discounting and the affect the NBN has had on consumer prices!
Whether you acknowledge it or not, ironically, your very own previous TPG $60 ADSL2+ unlimited, plan you used to try to bag the NBN (although limited to only a few) proves my point beyond doubt, so thank you?
Please don't talk about what you don't understand
Reductions which NEVER OCCURRED PRIOR TO THE NBN (it's known as a kick in the **se) and even Telstra had to respond.
But according to the one-eyed (mind if I call you cyclops) all just pure coincidence, nothing to do with the NBN (ah what do they say about ignorance and bliss?)... I think we ascertained earlier in the piece that you have connections to PIPE/TPG & are a Lib puppet, which is why you bag the NBN incessantly and without rhyme nor reason.
But sad only having one eye... Even sadder that that one eye of yours is blind...! Nature can be cruel eh? Anyway...
As such... please don't talk about what you "clearly" don't understand!
And instead of just aimlessly hanging that statement out there as you did, I'll give "further" examples of your complete lack of basic understanding/knowledge.
You spoke of the Senate being the house where the government numbers are formed (oh, please stop... my face still aches with laughter) and you supplied completely FUDged figures (absolute lies) to inflate by some 2.5x, your "per head" NBN cost claims - by dividing by "per household" not per head... DIDN'T YOU, grow some and "finally" admit it...?
False statement, which means everything else you said is complete nonsense
Quotas started dramatically lowering since 2006 when ULL was offered. Telstra and iiNet actually lowered plans in response to TPG (iiNet offered 1 terrabit plans just after TPG started offering unlimited)