The Failure of Parliament on Telco Regulatory Reform Package
December 4, 2009
The failure of the Parliament to pass the telecommunications regulation reform package before the end of the year is deeply frustrating and leaves the industry and consumers exposed to yet more uncertainty and disadvantage.
The attitude of some parliamentarians to what is a package that is supported by every stakeholder except Telstra is difficult to understand.
The CCC and others spent many hours dealing one by one with all the furphies that Telstra presented in order to discourage these much needed reforms from being implemented. Yet still there persisted nonsense ideas such as that Telstra should not have “gun to its head” in the form of a restriction on its ability to bid for more wireless spectrum.
As the CCC has repeatedly asked, what is the alternative to restricting Telstra’s access to this public asset? Should Telstra be allowed to expand without constraint into new markets when all the independent analysis says that competition in Australian communications markets has failed and that it is Telstra dominance across so many platforms that is to blame?
The Government’s proposed regulatory reform represents the first time in years that there has been an attempt to truly address the core problems facing the industry. Consumers, competitors, independent analysts and commentators are united in supporting the action. Only one very powerful vested interest and its associates are opposed.
The Government has said it is determined to bring the Bill back next year. Telstra will do everything it can in its negotiations with the Government over possible structural separation to prevent this. If the Government stands firm, the Parliament will again be put to the test and will have to consider whose interests it thinks are most important.
