Jill Hall (Shortland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Mr Deputy Speaker Kelly, I believe this is the first time I have spoken since you have been appointed a Deputy Speaker. I am sure you will make a fine Deputy Speaker and I look forward to speaking while you are in the chair. I rise to support the Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (Consumer Protection) Bill 2013, a bill which amends the Do Not Call Register Act, the Telecommunications Act and the Telecommunications (Consumer Protection and Services Standards) Act 1999. It is important to note that this bill was first introduced, as the previous speaker so eloquently stated, into the House under the Gillard government in March last year. It was legislation that was developed in response to problems experienced by consumers and by the industry generally. I believe it is really important for governments to react to problems such as those identified in this area and to rectify them.

The first amendment is to the Do Not Call Register Act 2006 to enhance the operational efficiency of the Do Not Call Register, which I will go into a little bit later, and to clarify which party is responsible for making telemarketing calls and sending marketing faxes where third parties are carrying out the marketing activities. The second amendment is to streamline the process of developing and amending industry codes under part 6 of the Telecommunications Act to extend the application of the reimbursement scheme for developing consumer related industry codes, to vary these codes and to require code developers to publish draft codes, draft variations and related public submissions on their websites. That is a very important change.

The third amendment amends the Telecommunications (Consumer Protection and Services Standards) Act 1999 to improve the operation of the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman, TIO, scheme. Each and every member of this House would value the TIO and its role. This amendment will provide greater clarity about the role of the TIO and expected standards of operation by requiring the TIO scheme to comply with standards determined by the minister. I assume those standards determined by the minister will reflect the standards that we as members of parliament and those we represent in the community expect. It will also require periodic public reviews of the TIO scheme conducted by a body independent of the TIO and the telecommunications industry—once again, independence and transparency are all very important. This legislation, I believe, is good legislation. It makes really positive changes and is legislation that provides protection to those people we in this parliament represent.

The Do Not Call Register was, I think, one of the most innovative changes within the industry. I would like to pay credit to the former Speaker, the member for Chisholm, Anna Burke, for the role that she played. She championed the Do Not Call Register when those opposite were in opposition and was able to get that through the parliament. The Do Not Call Register reflected the demands and expectations that people in the community were making to members of parliament. They were saying that it was not good enough that they were getting unwanted phone calls—usually at tea time, as most people know. People were getting unsolicited, unwanted phone calls and something needed to be done to stop this. The interesting thing is that there are now nine million landlines that are registered with the Do Not Call Register. It is important that we ensure the register is actually achieving what it is supposed to. These changes to the legislation will make sure that the Do Not Call Register is vibrant and delivers what it should. That, coupled with the Do Not Knock signs that people are putting on their doors, has really made a change in the way people receive unsolicited door-to-door advertising and sales. It is interesting to note that at the end of last year a verdict was handed down and significant fines were placed on ATL and another organisation because they knocked on a person's door who had a Do Not Knock sign on the door. These are really important forms of consumer protection. The Do Not Call Register relates to unsolicited phone calls, people selling things that people we represent have not asked for. The Do Not Call Register and the Do Not Knock stickers that people are now placing on the door are really important changes in consumer protection.

The amendments to the code, which I detailed, require organisations to place details of those codes and responses to submissions on their websites. We need to have a strong code that is agreed to by all parties. It is important to note that the things to be looked at include the telemarketing and fax marketing industries. They have got to put all the details up there about bodies or associations that have been developed in relation to the industry, the industry code and how the code provides appropriate community safeguards where relevant. I think that is the thing that we as members of parliament are particularly interested in, because this is all about community safeguards and ensuring that the community has the type of protection that it needs.

The Do Not Call Register, as I previously pointed out, was an innovative register that was set up to stop unsolicited calls. The Do Not Knock stickers are to prevent unsolicited people knocking on your door. Now this legislation will ensure that there is a proper code of conduct in relation to the telecommunications industry. In the past it was really hard to compare different mobile phone plans. It was like comparing apples and oranges. There has been an evolution within the telecommunications industry that has made it easier to do this. This code of conduct will make it even more transparent and even easier to look at and compare the different telecommunications deals, offers and companies that are out there in the community. It is all about providing consumers with greater protection and more information and allowing them to make informed decisions.

In the past I have had numerous complaints in my electorate office about people receiving unsolicited phone calls offering to provide them with assistance with their computers online. These calls have created some damage for people who have actually followed the instructions that they have been given. There are also unsolicited calls and faxes offering people deals and sums of money. This legislation will tighten up the requirements to establish the link between the person making the phone call and the company that they are representing.

In addition to that, this legislation will make the TIO operate a lot more efficiently and effectively. There have been problems in the past with the TIO and the speed with which it can react to and deal with issues. Hopefully the changes that are included in this legislation will deal with that and lead to faster, fairer and more efficient operation by the TIO, consistent with current alternative dispute resolutions and best practice. They should also lead to the TIO having the ability to promote and encourage industry efforts to deliver quality complaint resolutions before any sort of outside intervention is introduced. This legislation was referred to and examined by a Senate committee. There were, I believe, six submissions to the inquiry, and those six submissions basically did not have any major problems with this legislation.

I will conclude by making the statement that any legislation that provides better protection to the people that we represent in this parliament is good legislation. The simple fact that both sides of this House are supporting this legislation shows that it meets the test of being able to provide protection to the people that we represent. This legislation will ensure that we have a fair, efficient and effective telecommunication industry. It will ensure that we have a Do Not Call Register that operates in the way that it is intended to. It will also ensure that the industry develops a code of conduct that is actually accessible to people, through web pages. It will allow the industry to change regulations but to do so in a transparent way and a way that benefits consumers.

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