Julian McGauran (Victoria, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I congratulate you and welcome you to your position as President. My question is to the Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, Senator Coonan. Will the minister outline the government’s action to protect the future of telecommunications services in rural and regional Australia? Will the minister also outline any potential threats to the future of these important services?

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

Thank you to Senator McGauran for his question and his longstanding interest in telecommunications issues in regional and rural Australia. The Howard government is committed to delivering regional and rural Australians with world-class telecommunications services. We understand that delivering essential services to regional and rural Australia requires more than just paying a PR consultant, getting a focus group in and issuing a press release.

Yesterday, together with the Deputy Prime Minister, I announced the members of the first Regional Telecommunications Independent Review Committee. This independent group, to be chaired by Dr Bill Glasson, will review the progress of the Howard government’s transformation of telecommunications services in rural Australia. Most importantly, its recommendations will determine how the interest earned from the $2 billion Communications Fund—that is, around $400 million—will be spent next year.

Labor’s neglect of regional and rural Australians has been highlighted in no clearer fashion than in their plan to drain the Communications Fund. Labor’s plan would further disadvantage regional and rural Australians who would already be suffering after missing out on Labor’s undeliverable broadband plan. That is why we have introduced legislation that will protect the Communications Fund and the guaranteed $400 million income stream every three years. This income stream will be used to expand infrastructure and services for regional communities, such as additional mobile phone towers, broadband provision and even backhaul fibre capabilities.

A key part of the Howard government’s transformation is the Australia Connected package, which will roll out a new high-speed broadband network, using a mix of technologies, to 99 per cent of all Australians at affordable prices. Labor does not have the strength or the experience to stand up to dominant market players and to do what is required to protect regional and rural Australians. Just one example is the CDMA licence condition. The government, of course, has listened to rural and regional Australians, and has heard that there are grave concerns about the performance of the Next G network.

While Labor was completely silent, we got on with the job of protecting Australians by issuing Telstra with a draft licence condition to ensure that the CDMA network cannot be turned off until the Next G network is up to scratch. That is a very important step to protect regional and rural consumers, and Labor has not even been able to muster an echo on this one. It is clear that Labor does not have any concrete or credible plan about how to deliver services to rural and regional Australians, either now or into the future. Only this government understands that continual improvement in telco services is not an optional extra for people living in rural and regional Australia—these are essential services. And those people can be assured that this government has stepped up to the plate to ensure that they are protected from Labor’s neglect, both now and into the future.