KEY POINTS:
Those attending the Tel.Con9 telecommunications talkfest were left in no doubt there is an election looming.
As the event's first speaker, Communications Minister David Cunliffe was on his political game, selling Labour's $500 million Broadband Investment Fund and the emerging positive results of the Government's recent regulatory overhaul of the telco sector.
"I probably disagree with all three of your points but in a loving and gentle way," he told one attendee during the Q and A session after his speech.
"Let me tell you why - no voter's a bad voter this year, right?"
National communications spokesman Maurice Williamson was next on stage. He said while he "hadn't intended to", since Cunliffe had just given him "a good serve and a good smack-around" he would respond.
Despite his alleged lack of intention, a deck of PowerPoint slides packed with 1990 newspaper clippings highlighting Labour's role in the sale of Telecom instantly appeared.
Political history established, Williamson then moved on to explain National's intention to invest up to $1.5 billion in a fibre broadband network to reach 75 per cent of the population, with a similar-sized contribution towards building the network coming from the private sector.
He has been criticised before about being sparse on the details but was non-apologetic on this point.
"That's deliberate - until we're Government, until I'm no longer a one-man band, until I've got a big team of officials like David Cunliffe has. [Once in office] we'll go through a process of discussing with industry and the private sector [how to best implement the policy]." But Williamson failed to impress, judging by the reaction of Tel.Con9 attendees canvassed. His "unintended" history lesson attack on Labour was seen as pointless and, despite having a $1.5 billion broadband carrot to wave, the industry appears cagey of National's "back-to-the-future" approach at a time when Cunliffe's initiatives to enliven the sector are beginning to take effect.
Industry leaders are only too aware they will have to work with whichever side prevails at the election and generally remained non-partisan when quizzed at the conference about their attitudes to the two parties' policies.
Vodafone boss Russell Stanners probably reflected the views of many in the industry when he was asked what he thought of National's policy.
Broadband was a relevant issue, so a policy offering the constituency a fibre connection into their homes was "a great way to sell into the space", Stanners said.
"Clearly, there's a lot of water to go under the bridge as you shape up that investment and what it will mean. I'm excited about what they will end up doing, which I'm not sure will be what is being put forward today because they have to work with the industry."
