Joyce leads flagship broadband policy into rocky waters

Communications and IT Minister Steven Joyce should not decide which companies win the $1.5 billion broadband fibre contract, says Labour Leader Phil Goff.

"New Zealand leads the world on public sector international transparency and non corruption tables because we have a tradition of politicians not being involved in commercial transactions,” Phil Goff said.

“It is the role of ministers to develop policy , and set criteria and budgets. They should not pick which company wins a tender.

“In the case of the UFB contract, there is now a public perception that the process has become muddied and is a mess. Ministers being involved in making decisions on commercial tenders runs major risks and is a clear breach of the principles of good government New Zealand has worked hard to uphold over many decades,” Phil Goff said.

“It is poor procurement policy, bad strategy and bad governance for the Minister to be making the procurement decision on who will roll out broadband at the same time that he is setting policy that will change the structure of telecommunications industry for possibly the next 50 years, involves such large amounts of public money and is likely to require law changes and new regulation.

“It is now becoming clear that the government's failure to meet their own 31 October deadline for making a decision on Ultra-Fast Broadband (UFB) shows a flagship government policy in deep trouble,” Phil Goff said.

“National campaigned for a brighter future for New Zealand based in part on rolling out fast broadband within a year of taking office .

“Now two years --- and many missed deadlines --- later, Steven Joyce has made a laughing stock of National’s ICT ‘policy’," Phil Goff said.

ends

© Scoop Media