Mr ALBANESE (Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government) (10:59 AM) —I thank honourable members for their contributions to the debate and for their support for the Trade Practices Amendment (Access Declarations) Bill 2008. This bill promotes certainty and stability in the telecommunications sector by preventing disruption to wholesale access arrangements that would result if a court were to hold that access declarations are legislative instruments. Such disruption also would be likely to have an adverse impact on the availability or price of telecommunication services used by consumers. In effect, the bill preserves the status quo under which access providers and access seekers have been operating since the commencement of the current telecommunications access regime, which occurred in 1997. I commend the bill to the Committee.

Question agreed to.

Bill read a second time.

Ordered that the bill reported to the House without amendment.