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

I thank Senator Chapman for his question. I am concerned, as he is, about Telstra and the Labor Party working together to frustrate and delay the rollout of the new high-speed broadband network in Australia. While the government is focused on extending high-speed broadband out to 99 per cent of the population, it is clear that Labor and Telstra have been working hand in glove to try and prevent any independent broadband investment from proceeding.

Embarrassing Telstra documents released in the Federal Court in the past few days show that Telstra and Labor’s tactics included a plan to influence an investigation by the Auditor-General and to commence court proceedings in the hope the rollout of the new OPEL high-speed network build would be delayed. Internal Telstra strategy documents from November 2006 and June 2007 said: ‘The bid for funding will be noncompliant for a range of reasons. A better option than not participating may be to have the government reject our offer. We are taking the view that so long as we have claims that are arguable and will not be laughed out of court, we should run them even if the prospects of success are not great.’ These documents also show that the Labor Party was complicit in Telstra’s plans to derail the OPEL proposal. Pride of place in Telstra’s strategy to influence the Auditor-General is a letter in draft form from the Labor Party to the Auditor-General. Who was this unsigned draft letter from? None other than—