It would help them greatly if the Coalition has a clear, sensible, and workable policy on NBN's alternative. Malcolm Turnbull's idea of buying Telstra's copper network to build a FTTN doesn't make sense, because it will cost more than the NBN but with a worse quality.
So what I think will happen is if the Coalition wins office, it will commission an inquiry on NBN which will recommend the completion of the NBN project, and the Coalition will continue to complete the NBN project. Economically this is the most sensible thing the Coalition can do. And politically, Paul Budde is quoted in the article as saying:
"In the end, they are a bunch of sensible people and in the end they will embrace the concept of the NBN ... At a certain point in time, you have to be realistic and say 'it could well be that the way NBN Co works is possibly the best way forward'.
If they are elected in 2013 and inherit one of the most important infrastructure projects ever undertaken in Australia, it's a gift from God: why would they not take it and deliver on it, cutting ribbons and being in the limelight as the network progresses?"
