This bill contains a collection of proposals to reduce the regulatory burden on the broadcasting and telecommunications sector. Labor will be supporting this bill, which is a rudimentary regulatory housekeeping exercise, but notes that these amendments do little to reduce the cost of regulation on the broadcasting or telecommunications sectors. As Labor has noted in the House, the government has spent the last three years increasing regulatory burden on telecommunications companies, and this bill does nothing to reverse that trend.

I thank Senator Brown for her contribution and commend the bill, but I also table an addendum to the explanatory memorandum relating to the communications bill we are debating now. The addendum responds to concerns raised by the Scrutiny of Bills Committee.

Question agreed to.

Bill read a second time.