Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for the Murray Darling Basin) Share this | Hansard source

asked the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, upon notice, on 19 March 2012:

(1) In regard to the Household Assistance Scheme (HAS) and the Viewer Access Satellite Television (VAST) service programs:

  (a) can details be provided as to:

     (i) where, and (ii) by whom, all of the set top boxes provided to households are manufactured;

  (b) what brands of set top box are supplied under these programs, including:

     (i) the exact model number, and (ii) how many of each model have been installed to date;

  (c) who is responsible for purchasing the set top boxes;

  (d) who is responsible for deciding which set top box is installed in each household; and

  (e) what testing or other form of quality control does the Government undertake before approving each set top box model for use.

(2) Is the Government aware of any modifications made in Australia to set top boxes that have been imported; if so, can details be provided.

(3) Under the programs, who bears the cost for:

  (a) replacing faulty set top boxes; and

  (b) any call out fees or costs associated with repairing or replacing faulty set top boxes, including details on the exact costs incurred to date associated with faulty set top boxes.

(4) Can details be provided of the unit price for each set top box purchased at the point of sale from manufacturers, and information relating to:

  (a) the exact price paid to contractors for each set top box, including cost details if the price varies;

  (b) how the price paid to contractors for each unit is determined; and

  (c) how the cost per unit of the set top box is taken into account when determining the price paid to contractors for each set top box.