[Linux-aus] Political Recognition for Technology in Australia - was Re: Seeking feedback - EFA Citizens Not Suspects campaign

[David Lyon]

On 28.06.2013 05:15, Russell Stuart wrote:
> That one area is whether they could actually pull off what is the
> biggest engineering challenge since the Snowy Mountains scheme.  The
> Snowy was smaller in absolute terms than the NBN of course, but as a
> percentage of GDP it's about the same scale.  This is in effect what 
> the
> opposition is targeting when they say it will really cost $90B.  They
> are just blowing smoke of course - they don't have a clue what it 
> will
> cost.

That's the problem - nobody in the public gets to know what the numbers
really are because the actual cost isn't published and the whole 
project is
off-the-government books.

As for saying it's the most technologically advanced challenge 
Australia
has undertaken, I can assure you that it's absolutely isn't.

It's laying cable from exchanges down existing telephone conduits and
connecting up some optical routers. It isn't over-the-head-stuff for 
the
tech-community to deal with.

The other point is that there is quite a lot of unemployment amongst 
older
IT workers in Australia, especially in Sydney.

Jobs to those people aren't being offered locally, as was the 
HydroElectric
scheme when that was constructed. It's not something where the whole IT
community in Australia can lend a hand.

Where will be the campsites for all the workers like there was in the
Snowy Mountains scheme? There won't be.

Sorry, but there is no real engineering challenge in laying fibre-optic
cable. It's an established skill which you can find readily within the
IT community in Australia if you needed to.