Mr BEAZLEY (2:15 PM) —Mr Speaker, anything worth saying is worth saying twice—

The SPEAKER —The leader will come to his question.

Mr BEAZLEY —but my question, first, is to the Acting Prime Minister.

Mr Randall —Mr Speaker, I rise on a point of order. Earlier this year you ruled on preambles. The Leader of the Opposition continues to flout your ruling and I ask that you sanction him for that.

The SPEAKER —I have asked the Leader of the Opposition to come to his question.

Mr BEAZLEY —My question is to the Acting Prime Minister. Will the Acting Prime Minister guarantee that there will be no radical moves to strip Telstra workers out of rural and regional Australia following the passage of the legislation to fully privatise Telstra?

Mr VAILE (Acting Prime Minister) —I thank the honourable Leader of the Opposition for his question on Telstra and the process of privatisation that is currently being debated. At the same time, it is important to note the overall Connect Australia package that the government has put forward as part of the policy setting for the future of telecommunications in Australia. It is very important that we recognise what that will do. Telecommunications services to rural and regional Australia will be significantly enhanced by the injection of $3.1 billion. It is important also to note that that will require the commitment and the investment of Telstra into the future. The conditions that we are putting on the licensing arrangements for the work that they have to do to maintain those levels of services across Australia, and particularly in regional Australia, will obviously require a very large work force as far as Telstra is concerned.

I make the point that, yesterday, the Australian Labor Party—both here and in the other place—asked questions about some report on the staffing of Telstra into the future. Those questions were based on some commentary in the media over a week ago. It forced Telstra to release a statement yesterday which said that there was no such report. Telstra sent a letter to the ASX which, in part, said:

I table the letter from Telstra. I repeat: the commitment the government is making to the future of telecommunications across Australia is to ensure there is adequate investment in future technology so that services are maintained, particularly in regional Australia, and, as a result, there will be greater competition in the telecommunications sector across Australia.