Coalition unveils Telstra bill amendment
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AAP
2009-10-21
The opposition has unveiled a scathing amendment to draft laws proposing to fundamentally restructure Telstra.
It wants consideration of government legislation paving the way for the break-up of the telco giant delayed until the completion of an implementation study into Labor's national broadband network (NBN) project.
Opposition frontbencher Bruce Billson on Wednesday circulated the amendment in the lower house, which read that the government's "rash, unjustified and irrational change of policy" on Telstra was behind the coalition's decision to oppose the reforms.
Labor wants the telco's wholesale and retail businesses separated - either voluntarily or by force - to create a more level playing field before rolling out the NBN.
Under legislation introduced to parliament in September, Telstra would be required to divest itself of its cable television interests and a 50 per cent stake in Foxtel before expanding its advanced wireless broadband services.
The draft laws also give the government power to impose functional separation on Telstra if it fails to undertake structural separation.
Mr Billson said the bill was an attempt by Labor to make its "poorly-conceived" NBN viable.
"The legislation proves that the government cannot build the NBN without Telstra," he said.
If passed, Mr Billson said the legislation established a worrying precedent for government interventions in private companies.
"We are seeing a parliament assaulting a private company," he said.
"What we are seeing is a government taking a meat axe to the company ... to bludgeon it into doing what the government says it should do."
Nationals leader Warren Truss is concerned the legislation abolishes Telstra's universal service obligation.
Under the changes, it would be up to the relevant minister to decide whether services were provided or not in regional areas, he said.
"We will support measures that increase competition and consumer protection especially in regional areas, however it's not clear whether this bill will achieve those objectives."
Telstra had lost the trust of people in the regions, describing the era under its previous CEO Sol Trujillo as "a disaster" in which the company forgot about its responsibilities to rural areas.
"There does need to be changes in the way in which telecommunications services are delivered in this country.
"Telstra has not behaved as well as it should have over recent times."
But the rights of Telstra's shareholders also need to be considered and respected, Mr Truss said.
"After all they brought a ... vertically-integrated telecommunications company which the government now seeks to break up, so these issues must be constructively addressed."
