Paul Fletcher (Bradfield, Liberal Party, Minister for Urban Infrastructure and Cities) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I present a supplementary explanatory memorandum to the bill, and I ask leave of the House to move government amendments (1) to (13), as circulated, together.

Leave granted.

I move amendments (1) to (13), as circulated, together:

(1) Schedule 4, item 13, page 187 (line 14), omit "November 2017", substitute "the applicable reporting period".

(2) Schedule 4, item 13, page 187 (lines 18 and 19), omit "month of November 2017", substitute "applicable reporting period".

(3) Schedule 4, item 13, page 187 (line 30), omit "month", substitute "applicable reporting period".

(4) Schedule 4, item 13, page 188 (line 5), omit "month of November 2017", substitute "applicable reporting period".

(5) Schedule 4, item 13, page 188 (line 10), omit "month", substitute "applicable reporting period".

(6) Schedule 4, item 13, page 188 (line 14), omit "month", substitute "applicable reporting period".

(7) Schedule 4, item 13, page 188 (line 18), omit "month", substitute "applicable reporting period".

(8) Schedule 4, item 13, page 188 (line 21), omit "month", substitute "applicable reporting period".

(9) Schedule 4, item 13, page 188 (line 24), omit "month", substitute "applicable reporting period".

(10) Schedule 4, item 13, page 188 (line 27), omit paragraph 102ZF(2) (d), substitute:

(d) do so within one month after the end of the applicable reporting period.

(11) Schedule 4, item 13, page 188 (line 31), omit "month of November 2017", substitute "applicable reporting period".

(12) Schedule 4, item 13, page 189 (after line 19), at the end of section 102ZF, add:

Applicable reporting period

(7) For the purposes of this section, applicable reporting period means:

(a) the second month that began after the commencement of this section; or

(b) if a later month is specified under subsection (8)—that later month.

(8) The Minister may, by legislative instrument, specify a month for the purposes of paragraph (7) (b).

(9) A month specified under subsection (8) must not be later than October 2018.

(13) Schedule 4, item 13, page 191 (after line 21), after subsection 102ZFB(3), insert:

(3A) If:

(a) notice of a motion to disallow the determination is given in a House of the Parliament within 15 sitting days of that House after the copy of the determination was tabled in that House under section 38 of the Legislation Act 2003; and

(b) at the end of 15 sitting days of that House after the giving of that notice of motion:

  (i) the notice has not been withdrawn and the motion has not been called on; or

  (ii) the motion has been called on, moved and (where relevant) seconded and has not been withdrawn or otherwise disposed of;

the determination is then taken to have been disallowed, and subsection (3) does not apply to the determination.

To explain to the House these amendments: the Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (Competition and Consumer) Bill 2017 and the Telecommunications (Regional Broadband Scheme) Charge Bill 2017 implement a coherent three-part package to improve the regulatory framework for the supply of high-speed broadband by amending separation rules and creating new supply and funding arrangements.

The amendments that I am moving on sheet LC109 to schedule 4 of the Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (Competition and Consumer) Bill 2017, concerning the Regional Broadband Scheme, would implement the recommendation of the Senate Environment and Communications Legislation Committee to align the Regional Broadband Scheme with standard disallowance procedures and provide more time for carriers to prepare for the initial reporting requirements.

Proposed amendments (1) to (12) on sheet LC109 delay the timing of the initial report by carriers to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and introduce deemed disallowance provisions for certain ministerial determinations. As currently drafted, carriers must give a report on the number of premises on their network that had a fixed line broadband service during November 2017 to the ACCC before 31 December 2017. Those dates, of course, have passed. Therefore, the government proposes, with these amendments, to update these reporting dates and to provide more time for carriers to prepare for the report. These amendments require carriers to report to the ACCC by the end of the third month after the bill commences for the period of the second month after the bill commences. The amendments also enable the Minister for Communications to further delay the required reporting period by legislative instrument. However, the latest month the minister may specify is October 2018, with the report to be provided by the end of November 2018.

The government also proposes, by amendment (13) on sheet LC109, to modify the proposed disallowance provision applying to ministerial determinations that relate to exempting a class of carriage services from the charge in determining what is and is not a premises. By this amendment, the relevant instrument would be deemed to have been disallowed if a notice or motion to disallow it had not been withdrawn or remained unresolved in either house of parliament by the end of the usual disallowance period. This amendment aligns the Regional Broadband Scheme more closely with the usual disallowance procedures in the Legislation Act and implements the recommendations of the Senate Environment and Communications Legislation Committee and the Senate Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Bills. I commend the amendments to the House.

Question agreed to.

Bill, as amended, agreed to.