Maybe Larry senses that the time is right?
Stewart's right. And unlike anything else Oztralians want to do other than mining iron, uranium and coal, it wouldn't take a lot to catch up to the rest of the world. Assuming that is, that Oz could throw out its present law relating to privacy, confidentiality, off-shoring of taxable income, and write something half-sensible.
But, it has proven over and over however that it cannot. Having more legally trained politicians per head than anywhere else has not helped. But now an ebullient barrister has just been installed as Prime Minister. So perhaps that is better put: Despite the fact that it is run by a barrister and 8 highly capable governments.
Indeed, overhauling their extraordinarily voluminous Tax Act still evades our well resourced, Antiopedan friends. But the former colonial penal colony's troubles now extend well beyond the whims of a few antediluvian media moguls. The constipation that is its 'Westminster' system, devoid of a working constitution or a relevant monarch, left a vacuum now filled by gambling Dons, elephantine billionaires and bankers working FIFO in the BVI, the Canaries and anywhere else they can stash their cash. These guys do very well out of keeping the turds lodged firmly where they now lie, expertly rolled in glitter and stuck in legislative poultice.
Larry can forget turning any of that into the saviour of his customer's data now Uncle Sam wants an extra set of keys and its own API. He'd have to buy the rest of them out to achieve it.
OTOH, it might be cheaper than buying other credible islands. Maybe John's speech is a first step in the takeover process?
Biting the hand that feeds IT
