Peter Costello must stop playing the blame game and come clean on the Howard Government’s involvement in Telstra’s deal with IBM to send 450 Australian IT Jobs to India. Peter Costello’s musings on Telstra keeping jobs in Australia disguise the fact that the Government gave Telstra the green light to proceed with these plans months ago.
The Australian Financial Review reported in September last year that Telstra had fully briefed the Howard Government on IT outsourcing programs. They also quoted a Howard Government Spokesperson as saying that Telstra’s plans were simply a business decision.
The Howard Government, as majority shareholder in Telstra, gave Telstra the green light months ago to send hundreds of IT jobs offshore through Telstra’s outsourcing arrangements. The Government’s sole agenda is to fatten Telstra up for privatisation. It simply doesn’t care if Telstra guts Australia’s IT industry in the process.
Peter Costello must come clean and admit exactly what the Government knew about Telstra’s IT outsourcing plans in September last year. He must also explain to the Australian public why the Government has done and continues to do absolutely nothing to keep these jobs in Australia.
For further information contact Lindsay Tanner or Peter van Vliet on (03) 9347 5000 or 0408 188 055, or Kate Lundy on (02) 6277 3334.
