Looks like Trujillo has made his first fuck up as Telstra CEO. And I don’t think he quite realises it yet.
This cowboy “free market rulz OK” rhetoric may work in the US, but I really don’t think its going to fly with the already delicate Telstra debate.
At least what he has done is confirm what I have suspected for many years: Telstra really don’t give a fuck about regional services.
He also doesn’t seem to care that Telstra, as one of our last remaining government-owned utilities (well, half…), is something that has a solid history based in egalitarianism and the protection of consumers (formerly known as people). Funnily enough, because of this history, many people feel Telstra also has an obligation to ensure equitable access to telecommunications.
And yet Mr Trujillo does not seem to understand this. The concept of natural monopolies also seems to escape him, given that Telstra actually OWNS THE INFRASTRUCTURE that he is claiming should be the responsibility of other providers.
I think he has miscalculated by attacking the regulatory regime that keeps us so proudly unlike the American telecommunications system, and it might just be the ammunition the Nationals need to justify their rejection of the sale.
Again, I know its optimisitic, but hey, you can’t say it ain’t exciting.