Paul Fletcher (Bradfield, Liberal Party, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Communications) Share this | Hansard source

I thank all who have contributed to the debate on the Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (Deregulation) Bill 2014 and the Telecommunications Industry Levy Amendment Bill 2014. It has been a constructive and wide-ranging debate. I note that a number of speakers chose to mention the Abbott government's program to spend $100 million to improve mobile coverage in regional and remote Australia. In that regard, I particularly want to acknowledge the presence in the chamber of the Assistant Minister for Employment, who, with his previous responsibilities, was instrumental in devising that policy which the government is now in the process of implementing. I congratulate him on the development of that policy which is proving to be one that is attracting great interest throughout regional and remote Australia.

The Abbott government came to power in 2013 with a very clear commitment to reduce red tape, to reduce the burden of regulation, to boost productivity, to increase competitiveness, to reduce unnecessary regulation and to lift regulatory performance. The deregulatory measures in this bill respond to this government commitment. This bill delivers significant reform in the communications portfolio through better regulation and lowering the cost burden on industry and consumers by an estimated $6.71 million a year. The measures in this bill strike a balance between maintaining appropriate protections for the community and the public interest on the one hand, while at the same time capturing opportunities to reduce unnecessary costs presently imposed on the industry or the broader community on the other hand.

The bill amends the Do Not Call Register Act 2006 by making the registration period of the Do Not Call Register indefinite. This will reduce the administrative burden on consumers and save $3.4 million a year over 10 years. The Do Not Call Register has proved itself to be a valued consumer protection measure in the Australian community. This measure ensures that consumers who are on the register can continue to have the benefit of this protection without needing to take any further action.

The bill also reduces the administrative burden on industry by relaxing the obligations on telecommunications companies to provide preselection. When telecommunications was first fully opened to competition in 1997, preselection was very important to enable competition in long distance and international services. A customer could have Telstra as his or her local access provider but select Optus or another competitor for long distance or international services. The preselection obligation imposed on Telstra and other local access providers was therefore an important regulatory tool.

The member for Greenway, who has considerable experience in this field, made some comments along the same lines, and I agree with what she had to say. However, technology has changed greatly, as has the nature of competition since 1997. Today, preselection is only a very minor part of the competitive picture—and, hence, it makes sense to very much wind back the nature of the preselection obligation. These amendments will increase flexibility in the delivery of telephony to Australian consumers and recognise the nature of the competitive telecommunications market in this country.

The government proposes to remove schedule 5 from the bill in an amendment I will shortly be moving. The rationale for the measures in schedule 5 was to remove an administratively burdensome set of record keeping and reporting obligations in the Telecommunications Act imposed on telecommunications companies on the grounds that they provided no real consumer benefit. This measure was supported by industry and consumer groups alike. However, some concerns have subsequently been expressed that this measure gave the appearance of reducing transparency and privacy. The government therefore undertook further consultation with a range of industry players. The outcome of that consultation was that the measures in schedule 5, while felt to be desirable from an industry perspective, were recognised to deliver only a modest regulatory saving. At the same time, there was recognition that removing schedule 5, if it would facilitate the passage of the bill and hence the implementation of other important measures contained in it, was a sensible step to take. The removal of schedule 5 will allow the government to consider the deregulation of part 13 of the Telecommunications Act in the broader context of privacy protections and consumer safeguards.

The telecommunications industry is a fast-moving and growing sector. It is also a heavily regulated sector. Over time, some of the regulation applicable to the sector has become outdated due to advances in technology, changes in consumer behaviour and evolution in the structure of the market. The bill before the House responds to many of these changes—including by removing regulation that is now clearly out of date. The bill repeals the provisions that regulate the supply of telephone sex services via a standard telephone service. These provisions have become out of date because of advances in technology and changes in the way that such services are provided and accessed. I want to emphasise that the removal of these provisions is not expected to impact on the risk of children accessing such services. The strong content rules enforced by the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 will remain in place.

The bill also removes the arrangements for the Australian Communications and Media Authority to register e-marketing codes under part 6 of the Telecommunications Act. These provisions have become unnecessary since the ACMA deregistered the eMarketing Code of Practice in June 2014 and it is unlikely that any future codes will be introduced. Importantly, consumers will still receive the necessary protection in this area because the Spam Act 2003 continues to provide appropriate protection measures to deal with e-marketing activities.

A key measure in the bill, which responds to the government's commitment to a smaller and more efficient government and which will result in savings for industry, is the winding up of the Telecommunications Universal Service Management Agency.    The bill will abolish TUSMA and transfer TUSMA's responsibilities to the Department of Communications. This will reduce administrative and governance costs and create greater certainty for industry. It will mean that there will be a single agency responsible for the policy and management of contracts for the delivery of public interest telecommunications services. This will enhance the lines of accountability, help the government focus on its core responsibilities and priorities and ensure that consumer safeguards are maintained.

The industry levy bill makes consequential amendments to existing industry levy arrangements, reflecting the proposed amendments in the bill which transition the assessment and collection of the industry levy from the Telecommunications Universal Service Management Agency Act 2012 to the Telecommunications (Consumer Protection and Service Standards) Act 1999.

These bills are an important step in this government's ongoing commitment to reduce unnecessary regulatory burden and costs on industry and the broader community while maintaining significant consumer safeguards. I commend these bills to the House.

Question agreed to.

Bill read a second time.

Message from the Governor-General recommending appropriation announced.

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