Mr HARTSUYKER (4:00 PM) —I am delighted to have the opportunity to speak today on this matter of public importance. In my discussion I want to touch on three points: firstly, the government’s record in delivering telecommunications improvements to the people of Australia; secondly, the announcements made today on the $1.1 billion Connect Australia program and the $2 billion Communications Fund for the future; and, thirdly, the track record of the ALP on both telecommunications and privatisation.

On the first point, the government’s track record since coming to power in 1996, the coalition has delivered unprecedented benefits to Australian consumers and businesses through the development of a highly competitive telecommunications regime. We as a government have been focused on equity and access to high-quality telecommunications services across Australia, no matter where you live. There have been three planks in the government’s approach to achieving those objectives: firstly, to encourage competition, to deliver innovation, to deliver cheaper prices and to deliver greater choice; secondly, to maintain tough regulatory and consumer safeguards such as price controls, customer service guarantees and universal service obligations; and, thirdly, to provide targeted funding to provide services in areas which would not normally be catered for in a commercial market.

The government’s approach has delivered real benefits to consumers: prices have fallen, customers have been offered a choice of providers and new services such as broadband are being rolled out across the country. Since the introduction of competition in 1997, consumers have seen a decrease in prices of some 20 per cent in real terms for telecommunications services. Now Australians can choose between different service providers and different telecommunications products. Australians have the option of dealing with 100 carriers across Australia, and there are now more than 16 million mobile phones in operation. Broadband subscribers now number well over a million, with half of them being serviced by operators other than Telstra.

Regional Australia has benefited in particular from the improvements under this government, with over a billion dollars being spent to date on a range of programs, such as Networking the Nation and improvements under the Besley and Estens reviews, including the highly successful HiBIS program which delivers broadband to small communities right round the country. There is also the $50 million metropolitan black spot program. This government has invested over $140 million to support the extension of mobile phone coverage to 98 per cent of Australians. Under the coalition, 40,000 customers living in remote Australia have access to untimed local calls for the first time, and they have been given the opportunity to take up subsidised two-way high-speed satellite internet services.

I would now like to turn to the announcement made today. This additional commitment will build on what has gone before under this government. The $1.1 billion Connect Australia program will provide a huge boost to our national infrastructure, with $878 million for the Broadband Connect program to provide more Australians with affordable broadband services; $113 million for the Clever Networks program, which will roll out new broadband networks to provide innovative applications to improve delivery of health, education and other essential services; $30 million for the Mobile Connect program to further extend terrestrial mobile coverage to areas not adequately catered for and to build on the subsidy for handheld satellite phones; and $90 million for a comprehensive package to provide telecommunications services to our Indigenous communities, which are so lacking in telecommunications services.

The government believes that good telecommunications services need to be assured not only now but into the future, and that is why there will be a system of regular reviews of services. There will be a requirement for Telstra to produce a local presence plan to ensure that Telstra services are available in regional and rural Australia and that there will be access to Telstra representatives at the local level. A $2 billion fund will be established, the revenue from which will be invested to ensure that we will be able to roll out improved technologies in telecommunications as they occur. That is a vitally important factor: future-proofing regional and rural areas to ensure that they have the adequate services they need not only now but into the future.

We believe that better competition is the key to better services and lower costs. As part of this proposal, the government will require the operational separation of Telstra’s wholesale and retail business units. If we are going to have proper competition other carriers will need to have a level playing field and, through operational separation, the National Party and the Liberal Party believe we will be able to achieve that. The government seeks to ensure transparency in pricing for wholesale customers. There will also be price controls: the 22c untimed local call will be maintained, there will be no large increases in line rental, there will be restrictions on the cost of new connections and there will be measures to protect low-income earners. This government is encouraging a reduction in telecommunications costs to the Australian community.

I would now like to turn from the bright future to the dark past of Labor’s history, to Labor’s appalling record on telecommunications, particularly in regional and rural areas. It is difficult to recount their strategy on regional services because I do not think they really had one. The word ‘regional’ barely appeared in their policy. Not one cent was committed to improving services in rural and regional areas. As I said, ‘regional’ was mentioned only once in their policy. Labor’s record on mobile phones was a disgrace, switching off the analog service and putting nothing in its place.

As the member for Murray said previously, services were actually reduced under Labor, not increased. That amounts to vandalism of the community’s telecommunications services. It took this coalition government to roll out the replacement CDMA network. When Labor was in government it placed no requirements on Telstra to fix or install services within time limits. Waiting for over two years for a landline connection is deplorable but it was part of the day under Labor. People were waiting for two years for a phone connection. These days there is a 20 working days maximum.

Labor did not encourage competition in telecommunication markets as there was a duopoly between Telstra and Optus. This did not see substantial reductions in prices, as we have seen in the recent past. It was a coalition government that delivered price competition. Some try to argue that quality of services can be delivered through the control of Telstra. Actually, Telstra is controlled by regulation, not through ownership.

Labor’s plan for Telstra, as far as we can see, would see a return to the bad old days of having a monopoly. Labor do not seem to have a forward vision for telecommunications. Their only response to the telecommunications argument is that of public ownership. They think public ownership is the key—back to the days of the PMG. This government is looking forward. Labor have no vision for telecommunications. Labor have no vision to take this country forward with telecommunications infrastructure. Their only policy initiative is to look backwards, to try and retard the government in its efforts to provide improved services—to try and replace its forward vision with an idea that takes us back to the past.

If you ask people around my electorate, perhaps in South West Rocks or Wooli, whether they like the roll-out of mobile phone towers, I am sure they would say they do. I am sure the people of Bonville are pleased to have the broadband that has been delivered under the broadband rollout. It is a ridiculous notion that this government is not delivering. The National Party and the Liberal Party are absolutely committed to delivering quality telecommunications services. Labor have squandered the proceeds that they received through the privatisation of Qantas and the Commonwealth Bank. They privatised those companies and still could not run a balanced budget. This government has been able to invest the proceeds of the sale of Telstra into improved telecommunications services.

The member for New England is in the chamber. He obviously does not have a vision for telecommunications in his electorate. He wants the bad old days of full public ownership. He wants to provide steam powered internet services for his electorate! He does not see the benefits of improved telecommunications services, as this government do. We want to take this country forward. We do not want to see steam powered internet services, as is the vision of the member for New England. We want to see high-quality, high-speed broadband rolled out across the country as quickly as possible. We want to see a competitive regime for the provision of telecommunications services, providing access to a range of carriers and providing cheaper prices and better services. We want to see the introduction of new technologies, when they become available, right across this country. The proposed programs announced today are going to go a long way to seeing that happen. We, as a government, are very much focused on delivering the very best telecommunication services for the people of Australia.