This week we learned an important lesson with the National Broadband Network: passion and tension run high on both sides of the fence. Several journalists faced down with each other and Shadow Communication Minister Malcolm Turnbull this week about the facts and figures surrounding the project.
The stoush all started after a keynote by Turnbull at the annual Kickstart conference in Queensland. Several journalists — including Lifehacker’s-own Angus Kidman — were in attendance to hear the Opposition frontbencher talk about innovation.
Once questions opened up, the floor quickly became a hostile place to be. All in all, the Q&A session went for 45-minutes, with Turnbull trading sledges with journalists including the ABC’s Nick Ross and The Register’s Simon Sharwood over various accuracies, technologies and inaccuracies in NBN reportage.
You can hear the full audio, or read the transcript, over on Malcolm Turnbull’s website. Get some popcorn first.
Meanwhile, while the fourth estate were fighting, NBN Co was busy switching on more and more sites to the fibre network this week. Bacchus Marsh in Victoria and Aspley in Queensland went live, while various construction work has begun around more parts of the ACT and QLD.