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

by leave—During question time I was called upon by Senator Crossin to correct a statement made in answer to a question yesterday from Senator Birmingham. The statement concerned Labor’s pollster, Mr Utting, being on Telstra’s payroll. After question time I read a copy of a letter from Mr Utting, the Managing Director of UMR Research, and a letter from Philip M Burgess of Telstra Corporation Ltd that had apparently been widely copied.

Both letters assert that Mr Utting has no current or any recent financial relationship with Telstra. However, research of the UMR website, last updated today, claims that over the past few years UMR has worked with a wide range of clients, which is illustrated in what is described as a recent client list for Australia and New Zealand. Under the selected clients listed as recent clients is none other than Telstra.

So, whilst I certainly would correct the record if it is wrong, the information on the public record is, I would submit, equivocal and it certainly does suggest that Telstra is a client. It is Telstra and Mr Utting acting on a voluntary basis—I do not know whether that is in fact the position—but, if Telstra and Mr Utting have no financial relationship, it is odd that Telstra is specifically listed as late as today on the UMR website as a client. So, to be fair to both Mr Utting and Telstra, I have placed the competing versions on the record. I note that the letter from Telstra gave no assurance or guarantee that Telstra would not be meddling in the election to try to secure a Labor victory. I table the website of UMR Research Ltd.

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

by leave—I move:

That the Senate take note of the statement.

That was perhaps one of the more graceless apologies that one could get when one has been shown to have completely misled the Australian public. Unfortunately, it is not a one-off occurrence. What we have seen in recent months from this minister is that she is a serial misleader of the Australian public. She misled 27 tenderers for the Broadband Connect program when she only told one tenderer that there was more money available than had been advertised as part of the tender process.

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

Mr Deputy President, I raise a point of order. I think Senator Conroy is getting very close to reflecting on my integrity, and I do not believe that is appropriate.

John Hogg (Queensland, Deputy-President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There is no point of order. I am listening very closely to what Senator Conroy is saying.

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

That was just in recent months—the first of the serial misleads. Five hundred thousand Australians recently received a letter from the minister, paid for by taxpayers, which misled them about the government’s broadband proposal and, more importantly, misled them about the level of coverage of broadband that they actually received. The Australian public have been misled recently by this minister over the maps purporting to show OPEL coverage. Tragically, the minister was exposed by her own departmental website, which stated, in relation to the maps, that the department took no responsibility whatsoever for any use by any person of these maps.

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

So you rely on our website but not on—

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

The minister’s own website exposed the misleading conduct of this minister. Finally, we saw yesterday this graceless and classless performance by the minister, and she could not even come in here and apologise for misleading the Australian public and slandering Mr Utting. The only pollster that Telstra has employed since the new management came to power in Telstra is the Liberal Party’s own Crosby Textor. That is the only pollster that has been employed by Telstra under the new management. This minister is a serial misleader, and she has fallen well below the ministerial code of conduct for misleading the Australian public on all of these occasions. If it were not for the fact that their ministerial code of conduct has been shredded over the last few years, this is a minister who should have resigned her commission.

Question agreed to.