Stephen Conroy (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

While significant structural reform has occurred in other key infrastructure industries, previous governments have failed to undertake necessary structural microeconomic reform in telecommunications. Since 1997, in other regulated sectors including aviation and energy, there have been just three access disputes. Over the same period in the telecommunications sector, there have been more than 150 access disputes. The measures in this legislation will finally correct the mistakes of the past. They will address the legacy left by those opposite who privatised Telstra without implementing necessary reforms and left it as one of the most highly integrated telecommunications companies in the world.