http://au.news.yahoo.com/queensland/a/-/latest/9077971/nbn-bills-passed-after-marathon-session/

National broadband network bills have passed the Senate after a marathon Friday night sitting.

The upper house chamber was meant to have adjourned on Thursday for six weeks, but an extra day was scheduled.

Communications Minister Stephen Conroy threw parliament into disarray by springing forward 35 amendments to an access arrangements bill.

The process was slow, and threatened to spill over into Saturday.

Shortly after 9.30pm AEDT, however, the Senate voted 34 to 32 to pass two key NBN bills, with the Australian Greens and crossbench senators Nick Xenophon and Steve Fielding siding with Labor.

After a 12-hour sitting, senators voted on 23 pages of amendments governing the commercial operations of the company behind the $36 billion project.

Earlier in the evening, the government compromised on its most contentious amendment, covering the role of the competition regulator.

The minister originally wanted the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to get permission from NBN Co to vary any points of interconnect.

But Senator Xenophon and the Greens jointly put forward their own amendment so NBN Co would not have a right of veto over an ACCC decision.

It passed 34 to 32, with the government siding with crossbench senators.

The amendment also called on the ACCC to review by June 2013 policies relating to network interconnection points.

The coalition supported the crossbenchers' amendment, but ended up voting against the government's entire amendment with the changes.

Still, the NBN Companies bill and an access arrangements bill have both passed the Senate.

In a statement, Senator Conroy said the passage of amendments covering national wholesale pricing would translate into affordable retail prices for high-speed broadband "for all Australians no matter where they live".

"Passage of these bills further underpins the Gillard government's policy to deliver structural reform of the telecommunications industry to promote, for the first time, sustainable retail-level competition," he said.

His media release failed to mention how earlier in the day, the minister took issue with National Senate leader Barnaby Joyce's call for unit pricing regulations so satellite and wireless services in remote areas could be delivered at the same price as high-speed optical fibres in major cities.

Lower house MPs are now due back in Canberra on Monday to consider the bills.

Opposition communications spokesman Malcolm Turnbull said Senator Conroy created an enormous legislative challenge with his rush of amendments.

"This is a big deal but the government is making it up as it goes along, it is chaotic, it is dysfunctional," he told ABC Television.

Australia's No 2 telco Optus earlier expressed concern about amendments being sprung at short notice.

When it came to Telstra, the biggest telco, the government insisted the amendments need to be resolved so there was no commercial uncertainty as it dealt with NBN Co.
The Senate was adjourned at 10pm AEDT, and is not scheduled to return until May 10 which is budget day.

buzzanddidj wrote on Mar 25^th, 2011 at 1:21pm:

Labor's National Broadband Network is backed by ... The Greens Tony Windsor Rob Oakeshott Andrew Wilkie Even ... Bob Katter ! Once the new Senate sits, the legislation is assured of an un-hindered passage through BOTH houses Like the NSW election result, it is a "fait accompli" I'm surprised anyone wastes their time STILL speculating on EITHER ?

buzzanddidj wrote on Mar 25^th, 2011 at 10:28pm:

buzzanddidj wrote on Mar 25th, 2011 at 1:21pm: Labor's National Broadband Network is backed by ... The Greens Tony Windsor Rob Oakeshott Andrew Wilkie Even ... Bob Katter ! Once the new Senate sits, the legislation is assured of an un-hindered passage through BOTH houses Like the NSW election result, it is a "fait accompli" I'm surprised anyone wastes their time STILL speculating on EITHER ?

all I can say buzz is we have far more money than we are lead to believe..[aka flood levy and carbon tax].

as much as I see computers as a fact of life... for the life of me I cant see them being more valueable than fixing our flood zones..and hopefully saving lives in the future.

if that couldnt be put on hold for say 12 months well I am staggered..

guess our priorities are more than opposites.

the nbn has already wasted 10's of millions of dollars, if not 100's

Sprintcyclist wrote on Mar 26^th, 2011 at 10:20am:

the nbn has already wasted 10's of millions of dollars, if not 100's

How has it been "wasted" ?

SO far ...
It is UNDER BUDGET
And AHEAD of schedule

NBN latest ...



NBN bills passed after marathon session
By Stephen Johnson, AAP
March 25, 2011, 10:04 pm

National broadband network bills have passed the Senate after a marathon Friday night sitting.

The upper house chamber was meant to have adjourned on Thursday for six weeks, but an extra day was scheduled.

Communications Minister Stephen Conroy threw parliament into disarray by springing forward 35 amendments to an access arrangements bill.

The process was slow, and threatened to spill over into Saturday.

Shortly after 9.30pm AEDT, however, the Senate voted 34 to 32 to pass two key NBN bills, with the Australian Greens and crossbench senators Nick Xenophon and Steve Fielding siding with Labor.

After a 12-hour sitting, senators voted on 23 pages of amendments governing the commercial operations of the company behind the $36 billion project.

Earlier in the evening, the government compromised on its most contentious amendment, covering the role of the competition regulator.

The minister originally wanted the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to get permission from NBN Co to vary any points of interconnect.

But Senator Xenophon and the Greens jointly put forward their own amendment so NBN Co would not have a right of veto over an ACCC decision.

It passed 34 to 32, with the government siding with crossbench senators.

The amendment also called on the ACCC to review by June 2013 policies relating to network interconnection points.

The coalition supported the crossbenchers' amendment, but ended up voting against the government's entire amendment with the changes.

Still, the NBN Companies bill and an access arrangements bill have both passed the Senate.

In a statement, Senator Conroy said the passage of amendments covering national wholesale pricing would translate into affordable retail prices for high-speed broadband "for all Australians no matter where they live".

"Passage of these bills further underpins the Gillard government's policy to deliver structural reform of the telecommunications industry to promote, for the first time, sustainable retail-level competition," he said.

Cont ...

http://au.news.yahoo.com/queensland/a/-/latest/9077971/nbn-bills-passed-after-marathon-session/

Quote:

THE Gillard government has been forced to reinstate competition watchdog powers over the $36 billion National Broadband Network, as it scrambled last night to get legislation crucial to the infrastructure project through parliament. After having to recall parliament for an additional day, the government last night negotiated a last-minute deal with key crossbenchers on the floor of the Senate so it could push its NBN Companies and Access Arrangements bills through parliament before a six-week break. In what was labelled a "chaotic and shambolic process" by Liberal senator Simon Birmingham, the opposition communications spokesman in the upper house, the government won the support of independent Nick Xenophon and the Greens by agreeing to wind back the scope of a series of amendments it had moved just 48 hours earlier.Nationals senator Barnaby Joyce entered the fray late yesterday, moving to strike out the potential for NBN Co to offer cheaper prices for higher-speed services for the 93 per cent of the population on fibre than the prices offered to those on wireless and satellite............

useless, cowardly action to thrust through leglislation at a witching hour.
SO many amendments, it is deeply flawed

Did you MISS this, sprint ?



buzzanddidj wrote on Mar 26^th, 2011 at 5:49pm:

Sprintcyclist wrote on Mar 26th, 2011 at 10:20am: the nbn has already wasted 10's of millions of dollars, if not 100's How has it been "wasted" ? SO far ... It is UNDER BUDGET And AHEAD of schedule

cods wrote on Mar 26^th, 2011 at 7:31am:

buzzanddidj wrote on Mar 25th, 2011 at 10:28pm: buzzanddidj wrote on Mar 25th, 2011 at 1:21pm: Labor's National Broadband Network is backed by ... The Greens Tony Windsor Rob Oakeshott Andrew Wilkie Even ... Bob Katter ! Once the new Senate sits, the legislation is assured of an un-hindered passage through BOTH houses Like the NSW election result, it is a "fait accompli" I'm surprised anyone wastes their time STILL speculating on EITHER ? all I can say buzz is we have far more money than we are lead to believe..[aka flood levy and carbon tax]. as much as I see computers as a fact of life... for the life of me I cant see them being more valueable than fixing our flood zones..and hopefully saving lives in the future. if that couldnt be put on hold for say 12 months well I am staggered.. guess our priorities are more than opposites.

Hey buddy, WHAT ABOUT ALL THE SENSIBLE AUSTRALIANS WHO DON'T LIVE ON FLOODPLAINS!??!

DON'T GO INTO POLITICS TOO SOON WILL YA MATEY!  ;) ;) ;D :D :D :D :D :-[
Hey buddy, WHAT ABOUT ALL THE SENSIBLE AUSTRALIANS WHO DON'T LIVE ON FLOODPLAINS!??!

DON'T GO INTO POLITICS TOO SOON WILL YA MATEY!  ;) ;) ;D :D :D :D :D :-[

Sprintcyclist wrote on Mar 26^th, 2011 at 7:03pm:

Quote: THE Gillard government has been forced to reinstate competition watchdog powers over the $36 billion National Broadband Network, as it scrambled last night to get legislation crucial to the infrastructure project through parliament. After having to recall parliament for an additional day, the government last night negotiated a last-minute deal with key crossbenchers on the floor of the Senate so it could push its NBN Companies and Access Arrangements bills through parliament before a six-week break. In what was labelled a "chaotic and shambolic process" by Liberal senator Simon Birmingham, the opposition communications spokesman in the upper house, the government won the support of independent Nick Xenophon and the Greens by agreeing to wind back the scope of a series of amendments it had moved just 48 hours earlier.Nationals senator Barnaby Joyce entered the fray late yesterday, moving to strike out the potential for NBN Co to offer cheaper prices for higher-speed services for the 93 per cent of the population on fibre than the prices offered to those on wireless and satellite............ useless, cowardly action to thrust through leglislation at a witching hour. SO many amendments, it is deeply flawed

DON'T GO INTO SALES MATE: YOU ARE HOPELESS!  :'( :'( :'( :'( :o 8-)

DON'T GO INTO SALES MATE: YOU ARE HOPELESS!  :'( :'( :'( :'( :o 8-)

DON'T GO INTO SALES MATE: YOU ARE HOPELESS!  :'( :'( :'( :'( :o 8-)

DON'T GO INTO SALES MATE: YOU ARE HOPELESS!  :'( :'( :'( :'( :o 8-)

oops - anyone here know what it means when an uncosted project has delays ??

well, juliars nbn has yet another delay


Quote:

THE company in charge of the $36 billion national broadband network has frozen negotiations over vital contracts, citing exorbitant demands from construction companies. The taxpayer-owned NBN Co wrote to 14 construction firms yesterday, saying a tender process was ''suspended'' indefinitely because none of their proposals had acceptable prices. NBN made the drastic move because it believed the bidders were trying to gouge excessive profits from the taxpayer-backed project, using rising labour costs from the resources boom as an excuse. While NBN is instead working on a ''Plan B'' to finish the work more cheaply, the suspension has reignited the political furore over the project's price tag, which critics say is vulnerable to soaring wage demands. The office of the Minister for Communications, Stephen Conroy, said it expected NBN to negotiate the lowest cost for taxpayers by ''striving to get the best deal from contractors''. But the opposition's communications spokesman, Malcolm Turnbull, said the suspension underlined the risk of cost blow-outs, and cited industry claims the government was underestimating the network's cost.The suspended tender process was for the laying of fibre cables to homes around the country - one of the most expensive parts of the project. It is estimated to be worth $12 billion. Bidders included Telstra, John Holland, Transfield and the embattled company Downer EDI. The list had been narrowed after painstaking discussions with NBN since early last year. It is understood their bids were above the scenarios in NBN's business case, which said a ''high'' construction cost would add $3.7 billion to the cost of the network. NBN's head of corporate services, Kevin Brown, said after five months of negotiations with shortlisted companies they failed to strike an agreement that achieved ''fair value''. Mr Brown was unconvinced by the wage pressure claims from the industry - which has warned the resources boom would drive up pay demands. ''Current pricing, in our view, does not reflect capacity constraints in the industry,'' he said. But Mr Turnbull said the likely skills shortages caused by the resources boom underlined the need for a cost-benefit analysis. ''This confirms the early worrying signs from Tasmania where, at face value, there have been significant problems with the roll-outs and particularly worry over the cost,'' he said. ''This is all a consequence of the government failing to do the basic, obvious, responsible thing, which is to ask the question, 'What is the most cost-effective way to deliver fast broadband?''' A spokeswoman for Senator Conroy said NBN was using the time while it negotiated an $11billion agreement with Telstra to get ''best possible value'' for taxpayers. ''We would expect NBN Co to negotiate the best rates on a building project, and that's exactly what NBN Co are doing.'' NBN denied the suspension threatened construction in politically sensitive rural areas, which have been made a top priority in the government's agreement with rural independents. Instead, the company is pursuing an option to use fewer providers after NBN's $11 billion deal with Telstra is sealed. Construction was postponed for the next batch of NBN test sites - which include Riverstone and Coffs Harbour - because of a delay in NBN's $11 billion deal with Telstra last month. In February NBN's chief executive, Mike Quigley, told a Senate committee he would go back to the government if costs exceeded those in the corporate plan. But Mr Brown said NBN would not seek more money from the government for the construction contracts.

http://www.smh.com.au/business/soaring-costs-halt-tenders-for-nbn-20110331-1cnl3.html

ANY delay is an added expense.

STEVE CANNANE: But when I went back to Greg Hunt today, he said he defines 100 square kilometres as a hundred by a hundred, not 10 by 10.

STEVE CANNANE: But when I went back to Greg Hunt today, he said he defines 100 square kilometres as a hundred by a hundred, not 10 by 10.

STEVE CANNANE: But when I went back to Greg Hunt today, he said he defines 100 square kilometres as a hundred by a hundred, not 10 by 10.

STEVE CANNANE: But when I went back to Greg Hunt today, he said he defines 100 square kilometres as a hundred by a hundred, not 10 by 10.  :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :-[ :-X

STEVE CANNANE: But when I went back to Greg Hunt today, he said he defines 100 square kilometres as a hundred by a hundred, not 10 by 10.

STEVE CANNANE: But when I went back to Greg Hunt today, he said he defines 100 square kilometres as a hundred by a hundred, not 10 by 10.

STEVE CANNANE: But when I went back to Greg Hunt today, he said he defines 100 square kilometres as a hundred by a hundred, not 10 by 10.

STEVE CANNANE: But when I went back to Greg Hunt today, he said he defines 100 square kilometres as a hundred by a hundred, not 10 by 10.  :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :-[ :-X

I would say GREG HUNTS PURPOSEFUL DECEPTION TO MILLIONS MORE THAN COUNTERS ANY ATTACK ON THE NBN!

 :-[ :-[ :-[ :-[ :-[ :-[ :-[ :-[
BYE BYE TONY 'ANTI-MARKET FORCES' ABBOTT : HE WAS A COMPLETE JOKE!!!  :-X :-X :'( ;D

Sprintcyclist wrote on Apr 1^st, 2011 at 12:20am:

oops - anyone here know what it means when an uncosted project has delays ?? well, juliars nbn has yet another delay Quote: THE company in charge of the $36 billion national broadband network has frozen negotiations over vital contracts, citing exorbitant demands from construction companies. The taxpayer-owned NBN Co wrote to 14 construction firms yesterday, saying a tender process was ''suspended'' indefinitely because none of their proposals had acceptable prices. NBN made the drastic move because it believed the bidders were trying to gouge excessive profits from the taxpayer-backed project, using rising labour costs from the resources boom as an excuse. While NBN is instead working on a ''Plan B'' to finish the work more cheaply, the suspension has reignited the political furore over the project's price tag, which critics say is vulnerable to soaring wage demands. The office of the Minister for Communications, Stephen Conroy, said it expected NBN to negotiate the lowest cost for taxpayers by ''striving to get the best deal from contractors''. But the opposition's communications spokesman, Malcolm Turnbull, said the suspension underlined the risk of cost blow-outs, and cited industry claims the government was underestimating the network's cost.The suspended tender process was for the laying of fibre cables to homes around the country - one of the most expensive parts of the project. It is estimated to be worth $12 billion. Bidders included Telstra, John Holland, Transfield and the embattled company Downer EDI. The list had been narrowed after painstaking discussions with NBN since early last year. It is understood their bids were above the scenarios in NBN's business case, which said a ''high'' construction cost would add $3.7 billion to the cost of the network. NBN's head of corporate services, Kevin Brown, said after five months of negotiations with shortlisted companies they failed to strike an agreement that achieved ''fair value''. Mr Brown was unconvinced by the wage pressure claims from the industry - which has warned the resources boom would drive up pay demands. ''Current pricing, in our view, does not reflect capacity constraints in the industry,'' he said. But Mr Turnbull said the likely skills shortages caused by the resources boom underlined the need for a cost-benefit analysis. ''This confirms the early worrying signs from Tasmania where, at face value, there have been significant problems with the roll-outs and particularly worry over the cost,'' he said. ''This is all a consequence of the government failing to do the basic, obvious, responsible thing, which is to ask the question, 'What is the most cost-effective way to deliver fast broadband?''' A spokeswoman for Senator Conroy said NBN was using the time while it negotiated an $11billion agreement with Telstra to get ''best possible value'' for taxpayers. ''We would expect NBN Co to negotiate the best rates on a building project, and that's exactly what NBN Co are doing.'' NBN denied the suspension threatened construction in politically sensitive rural areas, which have been made a top priority in the government's agreement with rural independents. Instead, the company is pursuing an option to use fewer providers after NBN's $11 billion deal with Telstra is sealed. Construction was postponed for the next batch of NBN test sites - which include Riverstone and Coffs Harbour - because of a delay in NBN's $11 billion deal with Telstra last month. In February NBN's chief executive, Mike Quigley, told a Senate committee he would go back to the government if costs exceeded those in the corporate plan. But Mr Brown said NBN would not seek more money from the government for the construction contracts. http://www.smh.com.au/business/soaring-costs-halt-tenders-for-nbn-20110331-1cnl3.html ANY delay is an added expense.

Well let me be blunt:
STOP FVKING AROUND WITH THE MENTAL CASE & INSTALL TURNBULL.
At worst you'll win the 2013 election at best the Independents will cross the floor before then.
Why are you wasting time with this idiot.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/opinion/nbn-circus-up-to-its-tricks-again/story-e6frg9if-1226032264141

THE NBN circus show has changed tack yet again, by engaging in talks with a Leighton-Siemens joint venture, Silcar, over taking a big slice of the $10-12 billion network construction.

This comes nine months after a tender aimed at finding half a dozen firms to build the project ended this week with the rejection of all the bids and a claim of industry price-gouging.