[Aussie Mike]

I've worked in the Telecommunications for 25 years now and they way Australia's industry has gone down hill really makes me angry.

Telecom Australia (Before privatization and sale) was a world wide industry leader and a huge source of R&D for Australia. The research labs where I used to work have been sold off and even the buildings leveled. There used to be apprentices and university graduates going through their training there and producing great engineers and techs. They would either stay on at Telecom or move on to other industries and have positive impacts there. The same goes for the other utilities (I regularly worked with guys from the power companies, railways etc in my training).

They go on about educating Australian kids in primary and secondary schools to improve the improve Australia future but they gutted important tertiary training institutions like the Public Utilities. This knowledge that was once held by Australians is now farmed out to equipment vendors and overseas companies. The people like me in Australia who still have that practical knowledge are all aging with very few avenues for young people to come in and pick that knowledge up.