Perin Davey (NSW, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on these two bills, the Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (Competition and Consumer) Bill 2019 and the Telecommunications (Regional Broadband Scheme) Charge Bill 2019. I just want to correct Senator Kitching in her claim that the coalition does not support the NBN. I totally reject that claim. In fact, when the coalition came into government in 2013 we inherited an absolute shambles. It was a shambles that any government should hang its head in shame over. We inherited an NBN that was full of promise but very light on action and implementation. It was first devised in 2007, but only 51,000 premises had been connected by the time we came into government in 2013. Since then, we have completely overhauled the NBN such that we are now on track to deliver the NBN on time to premises across Australia via a range of technologies which are not just one-size-fits-all but suited to the area and region, and certainly to regional Australia—the purpose for this bill—which is where I'm most focused and where my personal experience lies.

I support these bills for three key reasons. They make changes to the regulatory framework for telecommunications that will strengthen the provision of superfast broadband infrastructure across Australia, but particularly in our regions. They increase competition in both wholesale and retail markets and will lead to better outcomes for consumers, and they provide sustainable funding for essential broadband services in regional, rural and remote Australia.

I think we've all experienced, in the last few months, what it truly means to need to be connected. We're working from home and we have children who are doing school from home. It is really coming to the fore how important being connected is in this modern world and how important it will be, going forward, post-COVID-19, if we want to recognise and provide facilities for flexible working arrangements and provide more opportunity to Australians and to consumers.

I live in the bush. I've had my two children schooling from home, and I access the NBN through satellite. Without that service, there is no way that my children could be doing their schooling sufficiently or that I would be able to access and service my constituents and continue to work for my community in regional New South Wales. That is why it is so important we recognise that we need to be fair across all parts of Australia. We need to finish the NBN. We need to get it in place.

It is not just about ensuring that our children can go to school, however. Hopefully very soon, if we continue to flatten the curve, our children will be able to go back to school and we will be able to go back to work in whichever capacity is suitable for us. But regional, rural and remote Australia has its own challenges, and mental health is a significant issue right now. We have seen reports where, drastically, modelling shows that there is potential for increased suicides in the months and years going forward, post-COVID. Telehealth for mental health is so important and provides people with access to services that they may not otherwise be able to reach out for. That is why having good NBN with good internet services, supported by voice services—which these bills also require—is so important for our regional communities.

Our farms are becoming more and more technologically advanced and our regional communities are benefitting from being able to access information and market their commodities and products online. I now know of farmers who don't go to the saleyards anymore; they actually auction their cattle from the paddock and someone else buys it straight from the paddock. It's cutting down the stress for the animals, it's more efficient in marketing and it's bringing modern technology to the fore. That wouldn't be available without the NBN services that we have put in place since we came into government in 2013, and that supports and builds on our other investments in rural and regional communications, including the Mobile Black Spot Program, all of which our government is committed to to ensure our regions are not left behind.

How do these bills assist regional Australia? Firstly, they improve the regulatory framework for telecommunications companies, which will strengthen the provision of superfast broadband infrastructure in our regions. Schedule 3 of the Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (Competition and Consumer) Bill 2019 does this by setting out a new statutory infrastructure provider regime. Currently there is no existing requirement for NBN Co to connect premises to the National Broadband Network or to service them on an ongoing basis, into the future. This bill establishes an explicit statutory requirement for NBN Co—or another service provider, in certain circumstances—to connect premises to the National Broadband Network. NBN Co will be the default provider; however, there is now capacity for other service providers to become statutory infrastructure providers, or SIPs, where there is a contract that can provide for this. The Australian Communications and Media Authority, an independent authority, will enforce the SIP regime and will do so by maintaining a register of SIP areas and registered SIPs. So, regardless of whether it's NBN Co or another SIP that is the statutory infrastructure provider, they must, on reasonable request, connect a premise to either a fixed line network or a fixed wireless network or a satellite network.

Another requirement is that the wholesale services must allow retailers to provide broadband services at peak download transmission speeds of at least 25 megabits per second and a peak upload transmission speed of at least five megabits per second. That is higher than the ALP's 2007 election commitment of a peak download of 12 megabits per second. So we have delivered on the NBN. We are committed to completing the NBN, and we are committed to putting in place the structures needed to ensure the NBN will be delivered and maintained into the future.

In addition, SIPs must also supply wholesale services that allow voice services to end users. This addresses concerns, which we've had as a government, and feedback that when the copper network goes, when the copper wires go and when the landlines go there won't be voice services to people in the regions. That will no longer be the case, because this bill requires that those services must be provided to end users.

It gives a flexibility for the minister to make standards with regard to time frames for premises connection and rules for handling customer complaints and the ability to address issues, such as complaints between providers, that more often than not harm consumers. So we are addressing the concerns that have been brought to our government that were not addressed before, that were not addressed under the Labor model, and have now put in place a framework to help protect consumers. It gives industry and consumers confidence and certainty, and it deals with the significant issue of dealing with complaints in a structured way.

As a member of the Joint Standing Committee on the National Broadband Network, I have seen many of these issues about service come to us, reported from a range of small businesses to local governments, private families and other consumers. This legislation gives the minister that ability to make the determinations that will give these consumers and customers better outcomes.

This legislation also increases competition in both wholesale and retail markets, and we all know competition benefits consumers. Schedule 1 repeals part 7 of the Telecommunications Act and associated provisions of the Competition and Consumer Act, which exempted certain large-scale networks from some access and non-discrimination obligations imposed by the ACCC. Furthermore, it created unnecessary complexity that made it difficult for the ACCC to intervene when required. Repealing part 7 gives the ACCC more flexibility to promote competition in the market. Schedule 2 of this package amends the carrier separation rules in part 8 of the Telecommunications Act, because part 8 requires networks to be wholesale only, but with a number of exemptions. The existing exemptions were for networks that existed prior to 2011 and have been extended by up to a kilometre, with the possibility of exemptions by ministerial instruments. It was confusing. It was introduced in 2011. However, since then, the range of exemptions that are available has meant competition in the marketplace has been distorted. Incumbents with larger networks that predated 2011 clearly benefited as investment by new entrants was restricted.

The amendments to part 8 seek to redress this lack of balance. There are six main changes to this part. Networks servicing small businesses will no longer be subject to the separation rules. This will promote the entry of new network providers into this market. Carriers can operate residential superfast networks on a functionally separated basis if approved by the ACCC, and this will promote investment in such networks. The ACCC will also be able to make class exemptions for small providers of up to 2,000 services. This will facilitate market entry and encourage the use of network technology most appropriate to the consumers' requirements. Services that are supplied on networks that are wholesale only or functionally separated will be subject to non-discrimination obligations to limit network providers' ability to favour their own retail operations. The enforcement regime will be made more effective by making the obligations civil penalties provisions rather than criminal penalties—which is currently the case—which gives the ACCC more enforcement options and allows for third party enforcement. And, finally, the one-kilometre exemption will be limited to networks that are being transferred to NBN Co under contract. This will remove carriers' ability to roll out large network extensions that are not subject to wholesale-only requirements and thereby form local access bottlenecks that reduce consumer choice. This measure will remove certain measures that limit market entry for smaller network providers, and it will thus bring more competition to benefit consumers.

As I said at the outset, the coalition is absolutely committed to the NBN. We will roll it out, we will complete its build, and then we will have a company, NBN Co, that is supported by the right legislation so that it can carry on into the future to maintain and service the network that we have built.