Senator COLSTON (9:26 PM) —On the last occasion the Senate considered the sale of Telstra, I had a number of concerns about any further sale of Telstra. In brief, these concerns related to: the corporate culture of labour and customer relations within Telstra; possible deleterious employment effects within rural and regional communities; the provision of telecommunication services to those communities; competition policy; the universal service obligation; and the Commonwealth's proposed use of further sale proceeds.

On that previous occasion, there was insufficient time to negotiate and debate the ramifications of the full sale of Telstra. Indeed, at that time, it could be argued that the government held no mandate relating to those proposals. On this occasion, the government clearly has a mandate to proceed with plans for the full sale of Telstra. It has become apparent, however, that it intends to proceed only with a partial sale, including a further 16.6 percent of the Commonwealth's Telstra asset. Some observers would have noticed that the government fudged its mandate a little. In the election campaign last year, the government said it would first move to increase the public holding of Telstra to 49 per cent. We find that this bill would increase the public holding to 49.9 per cent.

Since the last occasion on which the sale of Telstra was debated, there has been considerable time to negotiate and debate the government's proposals with many stakeholders. Those parties have included the government, Telstra, the CEPU and Telstra's cus tomers, shareholders, employees and competitors. In the course of those negotiations, it has been established that the concerns I raised previously remain as the core issues relevant to this debate. There is evidence that the proceeds of the sale will provide important benefits to Australia, both in terms of debt reduction and the various projects involved in the enhanced social bonus package, an expansion of which has been announced. Those benefits will be shared by my constituents in Queensland, just as they will be by all Australians.

In addition, the competition regime associated with this legislation appears to balance the interests of all communications carriers and provide benefits for consumers. Furthermore, there is a commitment on the part of the government to continue serving the interests of consumers through the universal service obligation with the intention to review and enhance the USO on a regular basis.

The last year has also seen a change in personnel at the highest levels within Telstra. That change has brought a welcome shift in Telstra's corporate approach in a number of areas. For example, I have received assurances from the highest levels within Telstra that the corporation intends to be at the forefront of halting the drift from small rural communities to the capital and regional cities. The indications are that Telstra's approach on this matter includes a commitment to continued provision of new-generation telecommunication products in those regions, in addition to the maintenance and extension of Telstra's existing infrastructure.

Telstra's rural and remote trainee program—in which young Australians from rural and remote communities are trained to become communications technicians—has been provided as another example of Telstra's commitment to employment and skill infrastructure within those communities. One may cite numerous examples of the remarkable change in corporate culture that have been associated with the personnel change to which I have made reference. Two further examples, however, are worthy of note.

The casualties of Telstra issue has been, to some degree, a watershed in terms of custom er relations. Telstra's recent approach to the settlement of the CoT cases is most welcome. So, too, is Telstra's commitment to pursue a multifaceted approach to restructuring. While recognising that change in the telecommunications industry is inevitable, it is clear that better approaches than those used previously are available. Telstra's recent adoption of a culture of consultation and proactive involvement of staff affected by possible changes are beneficial for both the staff and Telstra's financial performance. Further, when restructuring is necessary, Telstra's commitment to offering redeployment, redundancy, or reskilling, retraining and job placement is a productive and welcome approach to labour relations.

Once more, I acknowledge the assistance of the minister, his staff, Telstra officials, the CEPU, Telstra's competitors, shareholders and customers, as well as my own staff, in assisting with my deliberations on this matter. Those deliberations, on balance, indicate that an important and beneficial revision of Telstra's customer and labour relations has occurred and that a further partial sale of Telstra will have lasting benefits for all Australians. Thus I will be supporting the sale proposed by the government, which still leaves the government as a majority shareholder in Telstra.