Turnbull's claims on JJJ Hack Debate unwarranted
NBN

Turnbull's claims on JJJ Hack Debate unwarranted

During the JJJ Hack Debate on the NBN on April 16, the Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull asked the question why I have "never contacted him nor his office" and thereby implied that I was in some way living in an information vacuum. Turnbull is quite correct that I'm not a journalist, I'm an academic that is commenting on the NBN - my area of expertise. Postive and negative aspects of the NBN have been discussed over the past several years.

Putting aside the negative statements made by Turnbull about my knowledge of telecommunications and in particular access networks, it is important that Turnbull understands I have no political axe to grind. I would be happy to learn more about what is happening over at NBN Co so as to be able to provide a more detailed analysis of the multi-technology mix NBN, but is it appropriate for an academic to contact a minister's office to ask for information?

What is interesting is that I was told a couple of weeks ago that one of Turnbull's advisors had wanted to contact me and the advisor was asked to send email to my RMIT University email address to get my contact details. The email never arrived. As an academic, I'm particularly interested in access networks, so I would be happy to take any opportunity to learn more.

Mark A Gregory

<p> Mark A Gregory is an Associate Professor in the School of Engineering, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia. He was born in Melbourne, Australia and received a PhD and a Master of Engineering from RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia in 2008 and 1992 respectively, and a Bachelor of Engineering (Electrical)(Honours) from University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia in 1984.&nbsp;<br> Mark is a former Army officer who spent four years working on major defence projects, and is a director of an engineering consultancy. Dr Gregory is a Fellow of the Institute of Engineers Australia, a Senior Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc. His research interests include cyber-security, fiber network design and operation, wireless networks and technical risk. Dr Gregory received an Australian Learning and Teaching Council Citation in 2009.&nbsp;<br> Mark was appointed Managing Editor and Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Telecommunications and the Digital Economy in January 2015 and completed a major update of the Journal systems and processes prior to retiring from the Board in January 2021. He has been a regular public policy commentator on telecommunications, especially on the status and future of the National Broadband Network, via the ABC,<em> TheNewDaily, The Australian, Business Spectator, The Conversation and InnovationAus.com&nbsp;</em> </p>

Follow

Blog Category