Stories carried in national newspapers around the country today are roundly critical of recent Government policy flip flops.

Here are some of the top stories:

• Government's war on Telstra puzzles and damages deeply - Canberra Times(www.canberratimes.com.au)
  The Federal Government's war on Telstra is quite irrational. The Government has driven the market value of Telstra shares down from $7 to just under $4.50. It has taken decisions which advantage Telstra's overseas competitors at Telstra's expense. It puts forward arguments that are disingenuous. Read more...
• Coonan makes another U-turn - The Australian (www.theaustralian.com.au)
  COMMUNICATIONS Minister Helen Coonan has been forced into her second about-face in two weeks on government plans in the telecommunications sector. Read more...
• Coonan: subsidy a fibre-optic illusion - The Age (www.theage.com.au)
  THE Government will not give subsidies to companies competing for the right to build a metropolitan fibre-optic broadband network after an apparent shift in policy was dismissed. Read more...
• Politicians break up over Telstra - The Australian (www.theaustralian.news.com.au)
  THE notion of splitting up Telstra is a fantasy. Helen Coonan knows it. Yesterday, she finally admitted it. Read more...
• Give us answers, Telstra tells Coonan - Sydney Morning Herald (www.smh.com.au)
  TELSTRA has demanded answers from the Communications Minister, Helen Coonan, after she suggested the Federal Government could consider pumping taxpayers' money into a fibre-optic network that delivered high-speed broadband directly to households and businesses. Read more...