It has all the trappings to become one of the most boring movies of all time… Close your eyes and imagine the trailer for… The Network. The Gillard government, desperate to push its National Broadband Network agenda forward before parliament closes for the year, is torn between two pieces of paper. One, a business report on the NBN which is being demanded by the opposition, and the second a piece of legislation that will force the separation of Telstra’s wholesale and retail arms. And one man stands in the way… Independant Senator Nick Xenephon.
Asleep yet? No? Then let’s have a bit of a closer look at the situation. Currently in the Senate is a piece of legislation that will split Telstra in two, paving the way for the NBN rollout. the government desperately wants to pass this legislation before the end of the week when all the politicians leave Canberra to enjoy long, taxpayer funded holidays return to their local electorates.
The problem is that while they managed to get the Greens onside with the promise of robust debate before the NBN is privatised, they still need the support of independent Senator Xenephon to get the numbers for the legislation to pass. And he doesn’t want to play ball. He wants to see the elusive NBN Business plan, but without having to sign an NDA that would gag him for two weeks (originally it was seven years – wtf?). The Government doesn’t like that idea. They want to keep the business plan private while they find the time to read it themselves.
Seriously Hollywood. Turn this into a movie. It would have to be better than Transformers 2…