[Technical] Interestingcomputers-in-education

[Clark, Ian C]

> as a taxpayer, 
> I'm furious with the fact that $22 million of my tax dollars 
> are spent on products where there was no competitive 
> tendering. As a vendor, I'm furious that a
> $22 million dollar deal was done without an open competitive 
> tender. I have therefore lodged a formal complaint with the 
> ACCC, whose job it is to ensure, among other things, that 
> governments do run competitve tenders and that actions, like 
> the one that DE&T takes,

Hi Con,

The treasurer, education minister, teachers and parents would wring the
neck of someone promoting a Kennett-style "user pays voucher" scheme
like this! Your plan (scrapping the efficiency of a collective
bargaining deal) actually increases the cost to the taxpayer.

Under your proposal, you give $35 per computer annually back to schools,
and let them negotiate the prices of their software themselves.

The teachers on this mailing list could have to pay up to $175 more
annually just to maintain the same software they have on their laptops
right now. Their lease goes from $8 a fortnight to nearly $15. Now, that
wouldn't be a popular move with the troops! ;-)

A school trying to do the right thing with two hundred workstations on
three year turnovers could have to outlay up to $42,000 annually, but
get back only $7,000 from the Department.

Then there are the school's servers ... I won't even attempt an
off-the-cuff estimate here!

But at least you're being consistent with both the private and public
sectors. You also want to raise the prices of every IBM, Dell, Toshiba,
Acer and HP bought with Windows in this country by maybe $200. You'd
forbid those companies arranging bulk discount purchases of Windows and
passing the savings on to the rest of us by your first 'remedy' to the
problems of package deals:
http://www.cybersource.com.au/press/microsoft_accc.html

Cheers,
Clarky


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