Mr Infrastructure, his PPL and our NBN
Mr Infrastructure is off to a bad start, given he got lost in upper upper middle class welfare handouts. Taking a leaf out of Howards book, he thinks giving tax breaks and massive cash handouts to the rich is the best thing he can do, he kind of forgot to invest in infrastructure and all this before he has even become PM.
At 5.5billion a year ( just in the first year alone ) the paid parental leave scheme (PPL) is a more than robbing the poor to pay the rich side of things, it is robbing our future to pay for rich folk ( or women of calibre as he called them ) to have babies.
The NBN has been described by the Liberals as a waste of money (amongst many other things), however lets put the NBN into a different light comparing it to Mr Infrastucture’s biggest spend for the election.
The NBN is costed at $46 billion over the next ten years and will last 40+ years to ensure that 93+% of Australians have fibre to the premise. The NBN is also designed to have a return on investment. Not to mention addressing major issues with our failing existing telecom infrastructure.
PPL on the other hand will cost over $55billion for ten years, and will be partially paid for a by a 1.5% levy on over 3000 companies, who I am sure will be good corporate citizens and not pass on the costs to their consumers.
Of the NBN and PPL schemes, one is an investment in the jobs of the future ensuring Australia is well placed to address the changing digital landscape, the other ensures that people get 75k for having a child.
I don’t think Rudd is making enough out of the NBN. Although it may well be too technical for the bogans to get their heads around, to my mind it’s the single most important isuse in this election.