Senator MARK BISHOP (9:35 AM) —The Postal Services Legislation Amendment Bill 2003 seeks to amend the Australian Postal Corporation Act 1989 and other acts of this parliament. These amendments seek to implement a variety of consumer and regulatory reforms to Australia Post and the postal services industry. Labor support some but not all of the measures contained in the bill. Broadly speaking, Labor support the aspects of the bill which enhance the ACCC's ability to ensure that Australia Post is not cross-subsidising its competitive services from its reserve core service in an uncompetitive manner. We will be opposing the provisions in the bill that deregulate document exchange and aggregation services. We will seek to protect these services within the ambit of Australia Post reserve services. These provisions represent a first small step towards the deregulation of Australia Post. Labor oppose these provisions absolutely. We will also oppose the provisions in the bill transferring the monitoring of Australia Post from the Auditor-General to the Australian Communications Authority. We do, however, support in principle the improvements to regional standards monitoring associated with this section. I will now consider the bill in more detail.

The bill contains measures to enable the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, the ACCC, to determine whether Australia Post is cross-subsidising its competitive services from its core reserved service. These will allow the ACCC to ensure that Australia Post is not cross-subsidising its non-reserved services to the detriment of competitors such as newsagents. The measures will allow the ACCC to keep detailed accounting and auditing information about Australia Post's reserved services. The bill will also allow the ACCC to inquire into disputes regarding the rate reduction Australia Post allows its bulk mail customers.

Australia Post should not be able to use the benefits derived from its reserved services to unfairly undermine competition in other, non-reserved areas. This is why Labor supports the greater scrutiny of Australia Post by the ACCC. However, Labor supports absolutely the continuation of Australia Post's reserved service. Around 85 per cent of Australia Post's activities are now fully contestable. It is important that in these areas the playing field between Australia Post and its private sector competitors be even and fair.

Labor welcome most of these initiatives and are happy to support them. However, we have some concerns that the new ACCC role is to be funded by a levy on Australia Post. The estimated cost to Australia Post is up to $3.5 million per year. Furthermore, the people who will benefit from the new ACCC role are likely to be Australia Post's competitors. This money will ultimately come out of Australia Post's profits and its annual dividend to the government. Telstra, with its $3-plus billion profits, did not have similar levies placed on it in the same circumstances. Despite our concerns, and in the absence of an alternative funding model, Labor will support for now the government's new funding model for the ACCC's Australia Post role. However, we will be monitoring this funding arrangement very carefully.

Some of our key concerns about the bill lie with schedule 1 amendment items 11 through to 14. These amendments legitimise certain practices of document exchange and aggregation services. They represent the first step towards the deregulation of Australia Post's core reserved articles. Labor oppose these amendments and will be moving to strike out this section of the bill. It is clear that the Howard government's long-term policy ambition is to deregulate and eventually privatise Australia Post. Under this bill the carriage of letters from an aggregation services customer to an aggregator will be excised from Australia Post's reserved services. Labor reject these provisions. The bill also provides that the carriage of letters between a document exchange customer and a document exchange centre will be exempted from Australia Post's reserved services coverage. Again, Labor reject this weakening of Australia Post's reserved service. The provisions amount to a further deregulation of Australia Post's services.

Australia Post cannot be expected to adequately undertake its strict community service obligations if its reserved mail services are gradually opened up to further competition. Australia Post's community service obligation depends on the retention of its reserved service area. This provides an accessible standard letter service to all Australians at a uniform cost. History has vindicated the former Labor government's model for Australia Post's reserved services. Australia Post has achieved outstanding financial and service performance in recent years under both Labor and coalition governments. Australia Post's current regulatory settings are good for the economy and useful for general mail users. Australia Post's outstanding performance levels have been achieved because its core responsibility, the standard letter, is still reserved.

Australia has a relatively small population distributed very unevenly across an enormous landmass. This means that it is essential that we have some mechanism for cross-subsidisation of our basic postal services to ensure that all Australians throughout our society can communicate adequately by post. In 2000 the government tried to enact the Postal Services Legislation Amendment Bill, which also pursued its deregulatory agenda. Fortunately the bill was withdrawn due to lack of support in parliament, including on the government's own side. But the government's deregulatory agenda remains apparent, as demonstrated in the bill before us today.

The other aspect of the bill which Labor opposes is the proposed new Australia Post monitoring role for the Australian Communications Authority. This is the proposed new part 4A, division 1 of the Australian Postal Corporation Act 1989. At present the Auditor-General monitors Australia Post's service standards. The government is proposing in this bill to transfer this function to the Australian Communications Authority. Labor prefers that the current role of the Auditor-General remain in place. The Auditor-General, as we all know, is completely independent of the communications minister, but the ACA is not sufficiently independent of the government to monitor Australia Post's standards and costs.

In the telecommunications area, the ACA was exposed last year for reporting statistics which portrayed Telstra's annual network fault levels in an extremely favourable and misleading light. Just in the last few months a leaked internal Telstra document further exposed the weaknesses in the ACA's telecommunications monitoring role. This leaked Telstra document showed that Telstra's soaring fault levels were due to network neglect. In Labor's view, the Auditor-General represents a much more independent and robust institution for monitoring Australia Post's performance.

The government is now in the process of reviewing future arrangements for its two communications regulators, the ABA and the ACA. The minister referred to this possible merger in a speech earlier this year. It is therefore premature to grant either of these agencies significant new powers before that review is concluded. At the committee stage we will oppose the entirety of the proposed new part 4A, division 1 of the Australian Postal Corporation Act 1989. We will also be opposing the repeal of division 1A of part 3 of the Australian Postal Corporation Act 1989, contained in item 10 of this bill, which effectively repeals the Auditor-General's postal monitoring role. However, Labor do support the proposed new section—

Senator Ian Campbell —I rise on a point of order. Mr Acting Deputy President, Senator Bishop seems to be in breach of standing order 187. He is reading word for word from a speech off a lectern and not making any attempt to deliver a speech. He is just reading word for word from a prepared text, which is clearly in breach of the standing orders. I would like you to draw that to his attention.

The ACTING DEPUTY PRESIDENT (Senator Brandis)—I direct Senator Bishop's attention to standing order 187.

Senator MARK BISHOP —This provides a mechanism to enable the measurement of Australia Post's service delivery arrangements. This amendment is designed to improve the assessment of whether delivery services should be provided to particular communities. Under current processes it is difficult for communities to convince Australia Post to institute delivery services to particular areas.

Senator Ian Campbell —Mr Acting Deputy President, I rise on a point of order. Perhaps Senator Bishop is not aware of standing order 187. It specifically says:

Senator Bishop is reading a speech, which is in direct breach of the standing orders. He is not referring to copious notes; he is reading word for word from a prepared text, which is clearly in breach of standing orders.

The ACTING DEPUTY PRESIDENT —Minister, assuming Senator Bishop was not aware of standing order 187, which I very much doubt, the effect of it was plainly conveyed by your first point of order. I must confess that I was not observing Senator Bishop speaking when you made your first point of order. In the time between your first and your second points of order I did look at him. I do not think that he is trespassing beyond the understanding of standing order 187 in relation to copious notes.

Senator Ian Campbell —Mr Acting Deputy President, on the point of order: perhaps when Senator Bishop has concluded his reading of his text he will be kind enough to assist Hansard by tabling it. I think that that is often his practice. Perhaps you could compare his prepared text with the Hansard record and see if in fact he has read it word for word. That would be a good test for it.

The ACTING DEPUTY PRESIDENT —Minister, I do not think that that is a point of order.

Senator Ian Campbell —That standing order is now defunct, is it?

The ACTING DEPUTY PRESIDENT —No. I do not think you are taking a point of order; you are suggesting a course of action, but I do not think you are taking a point of order.

Senator MARK BISHOP —I was just making a comment that the government had instituted a review of its two communications agencies—the ABA and the ACA. The comments I made were in the context of the speech having been prepared some time ago. I am now advised that the government last evening announced a merger of the ABA and the ACA.

Senator Ian Campbell —That's the trouble with reading a prepared text.

Senator MARK BISHOP —Why don't you keep your mouth shut and listen to the speech!

The ACTING DEPUTY PRESIDENT —Senator Bishop, order! Do not address another senator like that. Senator Ian Campbell, you remain silent, too.

Senator MARK BISHOP —Under current processes it is difficult for communities to convince Australia Post to institute delivery services to particular areas. While Labor support these provisions in principle, we will propose a different way of achieving the same outcome. We will do this by moving an amendment for a new section 28C(3) of the Australian Postal Corporation Act, enhancing the Auditor-General's delivery arrangements role. This will enhance the Auditor-General's existing role and achieve the same outcome through a different agency. It will also ensure that communities can gain decent access to Australia Post services where appropriate. The government also proposes a new section 50E to allow the minister to direct the ACA to monitor and report to the minister on specified matters relating to Australia Post's supply of postal services. Again, Labor have no problems with this new provision. We will move that the same function outlined in section 50E be entrusted to the Auditor-General, not to the ACA.

One reform that would have benefited consumers which is not in the bill and should be is the establishment of a postal industry ombudsman. The government promised such an ombudsman prior to the last election to improve consumer outcomes in the postal sector. Such an ombudsman would apply to all postal service operators, not just Australia Post. More than two years into the government's term and approaching the end of that term, the government has not yet legislated for this significant reform. Until the government implements its postal ombudsman proposal, that proposal can only be regarded as a broken promise. Finally, there are some minor provisions in this bill—items 23 and 24—which are technical amendments to update the Australian Postal Corporation Act. Labor supports these latter amendments. I will speak further to the amendments in committee.