swann's fiscal fiddle re nbn

"Swanns Big Fiscal Fiddle"

Terry McCrann in todays Weekend Australian

Extract dealing with NBN.

"Similarly with the NBN. Here we do have a policy decision, indeed we have policy implementation - fibre has been strung out along power poles in Tasmania, in some sort of a bizarre return to the early 20th century.

But what we don't have is the government's "final response" to the NBN implementation study, which surfaced so close to the budget and left the government, well, no time to respond. What's the import of this? Well: until the government gives its "final response", it doesn't have to include the full $26bn plus - formally into budget spending.

We don't know how much it did include, because it's in that "contingency reserve".
But what's about the reserve suggests it has only included relatively nominal amounts:

On such are the dodgy numbers in this budget built."

Comment..

They gave us dodgy figures on the R.R.Tax, but with the NBN it seemed so dodgy they chose just to bury it.