Ursula Stephens (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Science and Water) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to Senator Coonan, Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts. I also refer the minister to Telstra’s plan to axe 5,000 payphones throughout Australia and the company’s belief that it is entitled to dump up to 25,000 payphones. Is the minister aware that these cuts will result in the number of payphones in many rural and regional areas being cut by up to half? Can the minister confirm that the local presence plan that the government claims ensures Telstra’s presence in the bush does nothing to prevent these service cuts? Does the minister now concede that the government’s local presence plan is completely useless and will do nothing to protect rural and regional Australia from a fully privatised Telstra?

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

So far as I know, Telstra has no announced or concluded plans to axe payphones, as Senator Stephens has alleged in her question. And the local presence plan, far from being useless, is still under development and requires me to respond to the draft plan that Telstra has submitted to me. The local presence plan will ensure that what consumers value in rural and regional Australia—

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

It won’t ensure the payphones, will it?

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

the presence of local technicians and the presence of local organisations to assist consumers—will remain, along the lines of Telstra Country Wide.

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

They’ll have a tech but no phone.

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

I can appreciate that Senator Conroy cannot keep quiet, but Senator Stephens, his colleague, asked a question and I was endeavouring to provide some constructive information in response to Senator Stephens’s question. What is important about this is that this government stands up for people in rural and regional Australia. It does not matter whether it is a matter of making sure they have a local payphone or whether they have a local presence to assist them with their issues in telecommunications, this government will not abandon people in rural and regional Australia. We have a robust framework quite capable of responding to any of the issues that are thrown at it, because it has been carefully thought through and carefully calibrated to assist consumers.

It ill behoves the Labor Party to be talking about services in rural and regional Australia when they abandoned the bush when they corporatised Telstra without a plan as to what would give people equity in rural and regional Australia. Not a cent was set aside for the bush. It does not matter whether it was when they were in government or even in their election policy; as far as the Labor Party is concerned, rural and regional Australia does not exist. It is this government that cares about consumers and cares about giving them telecommunications as an essential, critical service, and we will continue to stick up for the bush.

Opposition Senators:

Opposition senators interjecting—

Paul Calvert (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! Show some respect to your colleagues when they are trying to ask a supplementary question.

Ursula Stephens (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Science and Water) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. I acknowledge that the minister has mentioned technicians, presence, services and hopefully some payphones, but I ask: does the minister recall comments by the Deputy Prime Minister, Mr Vaile, on the local presence plan, when he said:

The government wants more than a marketing document from Telstra. We want a real and quantifiable plan.

How do these comments square with those of Telstra executive Ms Kate McKenzie, who stated that the plan ‘will achieve very little except more words on paper’? Doesn’t the payphone debacle demonstrate that Telstra is right, that the local presence plan is just ‘words on paper’ and that it does absolutely nothing to protect services for rural and regional Australia?

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

I do not know how I can gently let Senator Stephens into the secret, but the local presence plan is under development. It has not even been completed yet. So Senator Stephens is going to have to wait and see before she is able to make those kinds of comments. What is important is that this government has put in place a package worth in excess of $3 billion to make absolutely certain that the people in rural and regional Australia will not be left behind by the sorts of plans that the Labor Party would have for telecommunications.

This government will continue to make sure that people in rural and regional Australia are served with good telecommunications. This means not only payphones but also the customer service guarantee to fix the fixed line services and the local presence plan, which will assist those customers on the ground out there in rural and regional Australia to have access to the services that they need—and in a timely fashion—and ensure that equitable services are available throughout the country. (Time expired)

Nick Minchin (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance and Administration) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask that further questions be placed on the Notice Paper.