Senator NASH (New South Wales) (7.48 pm)—I rise tonight to speak to the Telstra (Transition to Full Private Ownership) Bill 2005 and the four associated bills, the Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (Competition and Consumer Issues) Bill 2005 , the Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (Future Proofing and Other Measures) Bill 2005 , the Telecommunications (Carrier Licence Charges) Amendment (Industry Plans and Consumer Codes) Bill 2005 and the Appropriation (Regional Telecommunications Services) Bill 2005-2006 before this place regarding the further sale of Telstra. The Howard-Vaile government has put forward a $3.1 billion regional telecommunications package that I believe addresses the key issues of competition, service delivery and infrastructure funding for telecommunications in the bush. That is $3.1 billion on the table that was not there several weeks ago and would not have been there without The Nationals. I would also like to comment straight away on the National Farmers Federation coming out today overwhelmingly in support of this package, saying that it certainly meets all of the criteria they put forward to deliver telecommunications services in the bush.
Connect Australia, the $1.1 billion package to upgrade mobile and broadband internet services in regional Australia over the next four years, is the biggest regional telecommunications assistance program in Australia’s history. There is $878 million for Broadband Connect, which will assist residential customers, small businesses and not-for-profit organisations to access broadband at affordable prices. There is $113 million for Clever Networks, supplemented by funding from state and territory governments and private investment, to provide for strategic investments in new broadband infrastructure and to enhance delivery of government services. There is $30 million for Mobile Connect, to expand the satellite phone handset subsidies scheme and for terrestrial mobile coverage where operating costs can be recovered and investment is commercially viable. There is $90 million for Backing Indigenous Ability, to deliver community phones, internet and video conferencing in remote Indigenous communities and improve Indigenous radio and television services. Can I just point out before I move on that they are plans for the future. Nothing we have seen from the Labor Party gives any indication that they have a plan for the future.
We expect to see a great deal of private sector investment if past experience is anything to go by. An example is the Yorke Peninsula CCIF project in South Australia. Agile Communications installed infrastructure worth about $1.5 million for $630,000 in Australian government funding. It is very important that we talk about this because we are not only talking about the $3.1 billion that the government has put forward; we are talking about the funding that is going to be leveraged out of the private sector to deliver those services out into the regions that we need to see. The Yorke Peninsula project included a new microwave backbone network and a range of other things that are delivering services out into the regions. The CCIF also provided $2 million for a $10 million extension of Telstra’s 3G EVDO network in Victoria to allow for mobile breast screens to be analysed immediately in 15 regional towns.
The Australian government funding of $8 million for the NCF project Network WA attracted $54.4 million in additional state government funding and a contribution of $12.3 million from Telstra, for a total infrastructure investment of $74.7 million. Last Friday, the Senate committee on the Telstra sale heard from Peter Stiffe of Vodafone, who said that his company had spent something like five times the amount of government subsidy it had received.
Senator Conroy interjecting—
Senator NASH —They are just some examples of how the leveraging will work to get funding out of the private sector. I am sure if Senator Conroy listens, he may come up with some ideas one day. We have seen, in this package, $2 billion for a communications fund to future proof regional telecommunications in the long term, to help fund the roll-out of new technologies and to address areas of market failure. On this, I welcome the Treasurer’s announcement earlier today that that $2 billion will be credited to the regional telecommunications fund as soon as these bills are passed by the parliament.
The revenue generated from the fund will be spent on implementing the government’s response to future recommendations arising from the Regional Telecommunications Independent Review Committee. The Regional Telecommunications Independent Review Committee, as most of you would know, will review the adequacy of telecommunications services in regional, rural and remote parts of Australia on a regular basis. Again, future proofing; again, checks and balances to make sure that services and infrastructure are provided into the future.
The Howard-Vaile government, under this package, also plans to boost competition by ensuring operational separation of Telstra. This is a very important point and something we need to focus on as a key element of this package, because it is going to enable greater transparency through the separation of the wholesale and retail arms of Telstra. That is certainly a key issue for carriers right across the board in terms of transparency of Telstra as the major carrier at the moment. It will ensure a fair and level playing field for new players entering the regional telecommunications marketplace. Other telecommunications companies will be able to access the Telstra network under the same conditions as Telstra’s own retail arm.
Having said that, I certainly recognise that Telstra will undergo a huge cultural shift and structural changes with the implementation of the operational separation plan. I expect that Telstra will rise to the challenge and meet its obligations. I am confident that Telstra will not attempt to circumvent the laws and regulations this government puts in place, but I put Telstra on notice: any attempt to engage in anti-competitive practices or to undermine the integrity of the government’s legislation will result in swift regulatory action or change to strengthen the regulatory regime if necessary. We are serious about getting this right. We should not under any circumstances allow a monopoly telecommunications carrier to operate in rural and regional Australia. A monopoly carrier will not provide the level of telecommunications services and infrastructure necessary to grow our regions into the future.
As I have said before, and will continue to say, competition is the best mechanism to deliver services and infrastructure to our rural and regional communities. Under the current legislative framework, there is effectively little opportunity for competition to deliver anything other than basic telecommunications services into our regions. There is little incentive for Telstra as the existing major provider to deliver services capable of carrying our regions into the future. The plan we are putting in place with the telecommunications package will take that into the future. Our rural and regional communities must be able to play on the same field as their city cousins and their cousins right across the world. Not only is it about getting this right for rural and regional Australia but it is also about getting it right in the national interest.
People in the cities take reliable mobile phone services and high internet download speeds for granted, and we need to ensure that people in our rural and regional towns have these services and infrastructure delivered. They deserve to have it delivered. I believe that the government’s $3.1 billion telecommunications package—can I just point out that that is $3.1 billion more than the Labor Party have on the table—will create a strong telecommunications platform that will encourage growth and deliver the services and infrastructure we need in our regions. While I am always far more content to talk about the positives in any debate, I think it is very important that we point out the difference between what we see the Labor Party putting forward in terms of a solution, which is nothing, and what the government is putting forward. Labor continually bleat on with ‘Don’t sell Telstra.’ I have said that previously in this place, and I will say it again. They do not care about the bush.
Senator Conroy —The gloves are off. And we thought you were nice!
Senator NASH —Senator Conroy will continue to try to make noise from the other side of the chamber, but he does not care about the regions. He is city based, he does not get out of the city and he does not know what is going on out there. The hypocrisy of Labor on this is breathtaking. Who sold Qantas? Labor. Who sold the Commonwealth Bank? Labor. Make no mistake: they would sell Telstra too without doing anything to make sure there is a way forward. They switched off the analog network and they left a huge mess in rural and regional Australia. As a person from the bush, I remember that only too well—and here they are, trying to tell us how to put a decent plan in place when they have nothing. They have no plan for improving service and infrastructure in the regions. They have nothing; niente. Not a thing. And they bleat on and they have no constructive ideas.
Who would be in charge if Labor were given half a chance to sell Telstra? Kim Beazley. The same Kim Beazley who has admitted that as finance minister he attended a meeting with BHP to discuss the sale of Telstra, and that his department consulted with investment banks and prepared a strategy paper for a five-stage sale of Telstra. But it gets better. Senator Conroy was very quick to rise to the defence of Mr Beazley on Channel 10’s Meet the Press last Sunday in response to a question from press gallery journalist Kerry-Anne Walsh. He said:
That is a furphy that the Government and then opposition ran around on. Let’s be clear—we have opposed the sale of Telstra, we have never put it up, it has never been Labor Party policy. Kim Beazley never advocated it, and we will be voting against the sale for the fifth time in 9.5 years. And if it is still in 51% public ownership—in other words the Government haven’t been able to flog it off—we will repeal this bill and make sure it stays majority public owned.
They are going to repeal this bill, but they still do not have a plan. But what about the West Australian article of Monday, 29 October 2001? It mentioned department of finance documents obtained under freedom of information that showed Kim Beazley considered a five-stage Telstra sell-off. He considered that as part of Labor’s 1995-96 budget deliberations and estimated the sale of Telstra could raise up to $20 billion for the Labor government. So I ask Senator Conroy: are documents obtained under FOI a furphy too?
Labor cannot seriously expect the Australian public to believe they would not sell Telstra. If their form is anything to go by Labor would be odds-on favourites with the bookies to sell Telstra within minutes, and they do not have a plan. Just saying, ‘Don’t sell Telstra,’ will not fix telecommunications services in the bush. It will not. What will fix services is the implementation of the government’s $3.1 billion telecommunications package. As I said, this package will address the three key areas that we need to see: competition, service delivery and an infrastructure platform for the future. This government is committed to delivering, and it will deliver, a telecommunications environment to take rural and regional Australia—indeed, all of Australia—into the future.
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