NBN: Numbers from the Turnbull Copper/Node Plan

The Coalition doesn't have an "NBN Policy" for a Government expenditure program, neither does the ALP. The NBN is vitally different: it's a business and investment.

Treating the NBN as a normal policy is wholly misleading. It's a business, pure and simple.
Money is being borrowed to invest, meaning it must both break-even and pay-back, in full, and go onto make a Return on Investment (ROI).

Investments also carry risk, the taxpayer must also be prepared to pick-up the multi-billion dollar tab if things go wrong.

Turnbull is pitching the Australian voter and taxpayer to stump up $30 billion for a business he wants to create, but he's not provided the necessary key data: pay-back period, Return on Investment and downside risk.

There's a simple test of "one of the most detailed policy statements from an opposition":

Would what's been put before the Australian public be full and sufficient for either the board of a major company like BHP Billiton, or for a merchant bank like Macquarie?

The answer is a resounding No! What's needed for this pitch is a good Business Plan, including the detailed financial forecasts to 2040/2050 Turnbull has already prepared.

Whole article, including extracts, moved to ER-Edition.