Helen Coonan (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts) Share this | Hansard source

Whatever safeguards and laws Labor intend to abolish, I hope they have the gumption to come clean with Australian consumers and identify them. I challenge Senator Conroy to tell the Australian public what specific regulations Labor will abolish. We know that Senator Conroy has very clearly said that regulatory change is needed now. We know that Labor support Telstra’s campaign to roll back the telecommunications-specific regime. We know that Labor in fact support Telstra, who say:

We must ALL tell them to get rid of the regulations that only apply to Telstra and stifle investment in broadband infrastructure.

They include these important consumer safeguards. It is important to note that, in this pamphlet Telstra have sent out to shareholders, they have made no distinction between what regulations they will rule in and what regulations they will rule out. The Labor Party have not ruled in or ruled out any of these regulations. So the Australian public are entitled to believe that the Labor Party have hitched their wagon to Telstra’s campaign to roll over all competitors, to roll back consumer protections and to go after the little people who depend on this government to stand up for them when it comes to giving them telecommunications services.