Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Hansard source

I present the explanatory memorandum to the bill and move:

That this bill be now read a second time

Access to high-speed broadband services is critical to Australia’s future economic prosperity and social wellbeing.

This is why the government has committed to investing up to $4.7 billion in partnership with the private sector and to consider necessary regulatory changes to establish a new national broadband network.

This national broadband network is expected to provide minimum speeds of 12 megabits per second to 98 per cent of homes and businesses within five years.

The national broadband network will be an open access network that provides for equivalence of access charges and scope for access seekers to differentiate their product offerings by allowing the customisation of access speeds, quality of service and contention ratios. This will facilitate real competition, delivering high-quality and efficiently priced services.

The national broadband network will provide a platform for sustainable growth for our economy for many years to come.

The government is committed to the expeditious delivery of these outcomes. The government’s timely release of the national broadband network request for proposals on 11 April 2008 and call for public submissions on the regulatory issues associated with the national broadband network demonstrate this commitment.

So that the nation achieves the best outcome from this once-in-a-lifetime transformational initiative, the successful proponent will be selected through an open and fair competitive assessment process.

It is essential that parties interested in rolling out the new network are not prevented from participating in the selection process by a lack of information about existing network infrastructure.

It is generally acknowledged that the amount of information in the public domain regarding Telstra’s customer access network and other infrastructure, especially in non-metropolitan areas, is not extensive.

As the owner of Australia’s largest fixed customer access network—elements of which are likely to form part of any fibre-to-the-node network—Telstra is at an advantage to other potential proponents of a national broadband network if it has sole access to information that is essential for the preparation of competitive proposals.

Knowledge of other non-Telstra infrastructure that could form part of a national broadband network, such as that used for backhaul, is also relevant.

It is essential, therefore, that potential proponents have access to sufficient information to develop, with confidence, robust network designs and costings.

The government has sought agreement from carriers to provide this network information voluntarily. Some carriers have agreed while others have expressed reservations.

Most network operators, including Telstra, have demonstrated that they are working towards giving this information voluntarily.

We welcome this cooperative approach. Discussions are continuing with carriers to ensure information is available as soon as possible. However, the government has come to the conclusion that legislation is necessary to ensure that it is able to meet the ambitious timetable to begin rolling out the new network by the end of the year.

It is important that all potential bidders have access to network information to develop their bids, and that private network data is protected.

This bill provides a mechanism for providing potential proponents with access to relevant information for the purposes of the competitive national broadband network assessment process, so they can put forward robust proposals.

Importantly, the legislation includes strong legislative safeguards to carriers, which guard against the misuse of sensitive network information. The bill, and any subordinate instruments which are provided for by the bill, are not intended to override any protections under the Privacy Act 1988 for personal information. The bill prohibits the use and disclosure of network information except for specified purposes. It also includes a sunset provision so that the obligation on carriers to provide information would cease to have force 12 months after the commencement of the legislation. This will enable the government to meet its commitment to conclude the national broadband network competitive assessment process by the end of the year.

Carriers will retain ownership of their information and will continue to have full use of that information.

The information requirements that the minister has consulted with carriers on are limited in scope, and can only be used for the purposes of building a broadband network. Any instrument issued as a consequence of this legislation would similarly be limited in scope. This measure will ensure a fair and effective competitive process for the benefit of the entire Australian community.

The bill enables the government to allow all parties in the market to compete on the merits of their proposals, not on the basis of control of information derived from their market position. This will increase competitive tension in the government’s process, resulting in the best possible outcome for the Australian public.

This bill creates a new proposed part 27A for the Telecommunications Act. Under this part, carriers would be required to provide specified information to the Commonwealth. The information would only be able to be disclosed to:

• an entrusted company officer of a company considering or intending to prepare a proposal. This would include directors and employees of such a company and its advisers; and
• an entrusted public official, which would include ministers, other secretaries, Commonwealth officers and employees and government advisers, to enable amongst other things consideration of proposals and advice to be prepared in relation to proposals.

The bill contains provisions to protect the information from unauthorised use and disclosure and specifies the circumstances in which that information could be disclosed by the Commonwealth and potential proponents.

The bill also provides the minister with the power to make legislative instruments setting out conditions that would have to be satisfied by potential proponents prior to them receiving carrier information, restricting or limiting the entrusted company officers to whom carrier information could be disclosed and setting out conditions for the storage, handling or destruction of carrier information. These provisions provide a further and flexible mechanism to address concerns, including those relating to national security, about the release of network information.

Subject to the conditions specified in the legislative instruments I have referred to, the bill would allow entrusted company officers to disclose the information to other entrusted company officers for the purpose of considering whether to make a proposal or preparing a proposal. It would also allow an entrusted public official to disclose the information to another entrusted official for the purpose of considering or providing advice in relation to the national broadband network process and proposals.

Breach of the non-disclosure prohibition by an entrusted public official would be a criminal offence under section 70 of the Crimes Act 1914 and breach of the provisions by an entrusted company official would be a breach of a civil penalty provision.

The bill is an important step in the competitive process for selecting the successful proponent that will build the new high-speed national broadband network that is so important to Australia’s future.

The bill as currently amended by the opposition in the Senate includes a mechanism aimed at providing some kind of protection to information provided voluntarily. While the government agrees protection of information provided voluntarily is appropriate, it is unclear how the scheme proposed by the opposition works or whether it would truly result in the provision of the information that is necessary to the national broadband network process.

This scheme cannot be supported. Instead the government will amend the bill to include a practical mechanism that will ensure that information provided voluntarily by carriers will have the additional legislative protections that are offered by this bill.

The bill has also been amended by the opposition in the Senate to include a range of unnecessary and inappropriate processes that will delay the national broadband network competitive assessment process. The government will amend the bill to remove the opposition’s amendments.

The passage of this bill today will allow all parties in the market to compete on the merits of their proposals, and will increase competitive tension in the government’s process. This bill is an important step in the competitive process for selecting the company that will build the new high-speed national broadband network that is so important to Australia’s future.

The bill enables the government to allow all parties in the marketplace to compete on the merits of their proposals, not on the basis of proprietary control of information derived from their market position. This will ensure a fair and effective competitive process for the benefit of the entire Australian community.

As a result, Australians will have access to high-speed broadband services and will be able to reap the ensuing benefits. This bill demonstrates the Rudd Labor government’s commitment to improving broadband infrastructure and ensuring Australia’s long-term prosperity.

Leave granted for second reading debate to continue immediately.

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