COMMUNICATIONS Minister Stephen Conroy has defended the massive cost of installing television set top boxes in the homes of pensioners.
He admitted it would cost taxpayers $350 per installation and that each box would cost just $50-$60, double the cheapest available in electronics stores.
"We make no apologies for helping pensioners through this difficult transition," he told Sydney radio 2GB this morning.
Mr Conroy said the whole country would benefit when the analog television spectrum was switched off and sold off.
The spectrum could attract $1 billion.But the latest round of set top boxes will cost $308 million, according to today's budget.
The Government has pledged to give every pensioner a new set-top box in today's Budget. The package would include installation, any necessary wiring work, a lesson in using it and a year's access to a technical support helpline.
But in an echo of the failed pink batts scheme, the Opposition claims the costs of the $308 million scheme are massively overblown and it would be "cheaper to buy a new TV set".
Communications Minister Stephen Conroy's office said yesterday the package cost about $350 per person, but his spokesman declined to provide a breakdown of labour, equipment and administrative costs, saying it was "commercial in confidence".
However, Opposition Treasury spokesman Joe Hockey said the scheme was as wasteful as the Building the Education Revolution program and the bungled home insulation scheme.
"This is the new school hall, pink batt program. It seems as though the Government comes up with a wasteful program every Budget," Mr Hockey said.
"How many hours does it take to install a set-top box. Even if you are charging $25 an hour for one labourer I am pretty confident you're not going to be spending a day installing each set-top box."
Under the BER school classroom and hall building projects, tens of millions of dollars were spent on management and administration fees, while four deaths, house fires and shonky workmanship were linked to the bungled batts scheme.
Treasurer Wayne Swan said the $308 million Budget sweetener was to prevent pensioners being left in the dark and in the worst case, left without emergency services updates at times of crisis.
NSW pensioners will begin receiving boxes before the analog signal is switched off in Griffith, Hay, Wagga Wagga, Wollongong, the South Coast and the Central West next year.
The Hunter and New England regions are due to switch over to digital late next year while Sydney will get only a digital signal in 2013.
Mr Conroy's office said installers of set top boxes had to be endorsed under a government scheme or have completed six areas of competence in Digital Reception Technology.
The Government is using an online test to pass antenna installers for entry to a government-endorsed program.
The Government is building a bank of installers, based on them having at least 12 months experience and having passed an online exam lasting about three hours on installation.
