Displaying items by tag: Alexander Downer

Australia loves to raise fears over anything to do with countries that it considers, well, below its exalted status, a status that exists only in the world of fiction.

As part of our series on the future of the NBN, iTWire had hoped to round off things with the opinions of Communications Minister Paul Fletcher and Shadow Communications Minister Michelle Rowland, the two people who are in a position to actually decide on what the future of the network will be.

In a clear case of the pot calling the kettle black, former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, who is investing in a security company known as Kasada which has taken money from In-Q-Tel, the investment arm of the CIA, is calling for former Independent senator Nick Xenophon to enter his name on Australia's foreign influence register because he is offering legal advice to Chinese firm Huawei.

It now appears to be perfectly clear what kind of public broadcaster the Coalition Government wants: a pliant set of robots who scrape and curtsy every time their glorious masters are sighted. Something more in the style of India's Doordarshan and All India Radio.

The ABC is considered by many to be top dog when it comes to intelligent discourse on the more serious topics that concern this country. Yet, when it comes to technology, the ABC often shows that it has no clue at all.

Huawei, the leading Chinese telecommunications equipment manufacturer has been told by the Australian Government that its bids for supply to the NBN are not welcome.