Helen Coonan (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Mr President. I am very anxious to tell the chamber what I am doing. I have asked Telstra to meet the government this week and also to meet with the federal member for Bass, Mr Michael Ferguson MP, who is very concerned about these matters in his electorate, to discuss this decision, in particular the decision to close the call centre in Launceston.

Telstra is a commercial organisation. It began its long journey to commercialisation when it was corporatised under the Labor government. That in fact was the genesis of Telstra being able to undertake proper management decisions as it saw fit in its own commercial interests. Telstra has been an independent corporation since 1991. I wonder who was in government in 1991. Its board and management are responsible for the day-to-day running of the company’s operations. The government’s role is to establish the legislative framework, which we have done, within which all telecommunications service providers must operate. That does not include dictating to commercial operations on what jobs they must keep and what call centres they must maintain and keep open. What this government has done is to put in place sound economic management that has seen the largest growth in jobs for about 30 years and a situation where people have not only the chance of a real job but also the chance of a full-time job.

So decisions about how Telstra carries on its business, including about call centres and employment numbers, are properly a matter for Telstra. Our role is to require all telecommunications service providers, including Telstra, to comply with their regulatory obligations, including their obligations to consumers for their customer service guarantee and the universal service obligation. The focus is to ensure that consumers are the beneficiaries of new technologies, lower prices and better services. Encouraging competition is one of the very best ways to deliver these consumer benefits. Encouraging competition has benefited all Australians and the overall economy by creating jobs and reducing prices for telecommunications services. I will have conversations with Telstra because it is very important that the impact on people who may have lost their jobs in those regional areas is minimised, and that is what we will do.