When he was in opposition last September, the now Broadband and Communications Minister Stephen Conroy promised in answer to a recent question at an AIIA forum to dump the Howard Government's "expert panel"
advising on its $4.7 billion fibre-to-the-node broadband project, and to "start again with someone who knows something about telecommunications".
Yesterday, having indeed dumped the former Government's panel, he finally named a new panel to assess proposals for building the national fibre broadband network. And, lo and behold, two of the seven members were drawn from the old lot, on whom he poured such scorn last year.
The two who have served on both panels are Patricia Scott, secretary of his department, who will chair the new panel; and Tony Shaw, former Australian Communications Authority chairman.
