Stephen Conroy (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

The government opposes these amendments. The relevant legislative instruments will give effect to structural separation arrangements agreed between Telstra and NBN Co. The ACCC will consider the exemption in the context of the overall agreement when deciding whether to accept the structural separation undertaking. It is not appropriate to apply the test of the long-term interests of end users test to one element of the arrangements on their own. There are some technical problems with these amendments as drafted because they do not appropriately cross-reference the long-term interests of end users as it is used in the telecommunications legislation.