❓ Mrs. Hughes asks about the outcome of the Minister's meeting with Senator Coonan regarding Telstra's privatisation and its impact on WA's telecommunications services. The Minister expresses disappointment that Senator Coonan could not guarantee improved services or detail WA's share of infrastructure funding, leading to pessimism about the benefits for WA.
AnsweredQoN 430Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
Will the minister please advise the house of the outcome of his meeting yesterday with, Senator Helen Coonan, the federal Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts? Mr A.J. CARPENTER
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for some notice of this question. The online ministerial council was an interesting meeting. It was the first time I had attended an online ministerial council meeting and the first time Senator Helen Coonan had attended one. The question that was begging to be answered was: what benefits will flow to Western Australia from the full privatisation of Telstra? I asked if Senator Coonan could guarantee that telecommunications services to Western Australia, particularly - although not exclusively - to regional and remote Western Australia, would improve with the full sale of Telstra. She could not give us that guarantee. I found that enlightening in some ways, but quite amazing in others. The very basis on which the sale of Telstra is being promoted is that it will provide better telecommunications services for people in Australia generally. I would have thought that an answer to a fundamental question such as that would have to be in the affirmative, yet it was not. Also, she did not provide any detail of the percentage of funding that we in Western Australia might be expected to attract from the $1.1 billion Telstra infrastructure fund. One billion dollars of that will go into improving broadband services, which the member for Riverton has quite rightly pointed out is an issue not only in regional and remote Western Australia, but also in the metropolitan area. In fact, any place that is about 10 kilometres from the central business district has broadband problems. Since that meeting yesterday, we have subsequently heard that the national figure now known as Barnaby - Barnaby Joyce - has basically cleared the way for that full privatisation. There is no reason whatsoever for Western Australia to be optimistic. It is unfortunate that the Western Australian senators on the government side of the chamber in the federal Parliament have not been able to exercise any influence whatsoever over the federal government and its decision. There is no indication that Western Australia will get any benefit at all. In fact, as I said, if we put a line through yesterday’s meeting, one would only be pessimistic and come to the conclusion that this is a move that is bad for Western Australia and will deliver us no benefit. Senator Coonan had the opportunity yesterday to make a statement in Western Australia, and she did not.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER replied: I thank the member for some notice of this question. The online ministerial council was an interesting meeting. It was the first time I had attended an online ministerial council meeting and the first time Senator Helen Coonan had attended one. The question that was begging to be answered was: what benefits will flow to Western Australia from the full privatisation of Telstra? I asked if Senator Coonan could guarantee that telecommunications services to Western Australia, particularly - although not exclusively - to regional and remote Western Australia, would improve with the full sale of Telstra. She could not give us that guarantee. I found that enlightening in some ways, but quite amazing in others. The very basis on which the sale of Telstra is being promoted is that it will provide better telecommunications services for people in Australia generally. I would have thought that an answer to a fundamental question such as that would have to be in the affirmative, yet it was not. Also, she did not provide any detail of the percentage of funding that we in Western Australia might be expected to attract from the $1.1 billion Telstra infrastructure fund. One billion dollars of that will go into improving broadband services, which the member for Riverton has quite rightly pointed out is an issue not only in regional and remote Western Australia, but also in the metropolitan area. In fact, any place that is about 10 kilometres from the central business district has broadband problems. Since that meeting yesterday, we have subsequently heard that the national figure now known as Barnaby - Barnaby Joyce - has basically cleared the way for that full privatisation. There is no reason whatsoever for Western Australia to be optimistic. It is unfortunate that the Western Australian senators on the government side of the chamber in the federal Parliament have not been able to exercise any influence whatsoever over the federal government and its decision. There is no indication that Western Australia will get any benefit at all. In fact, as I said, if we put a line through yesterday’s meeting, one would only be pessimistic and come to the conclusion that this is a move that is bad for Western Australia and will deliver us no benefit. Senator Coonan had the opportunity yesterday to make a statement in Western Australia, and she did not.
I thank the member for some notice of this question. The online ministerial council was an interesting meeting. It was the first time I had attended an online ministerial council meeting and the first time Senator Helen Coonan had attended one. The question that was begging to be answered was: what benefits will flow to Western Australia from the full privatisation of Telstra? I asked if Senator Coonan could guarantee that telecommunications services to Western Australia, particularly - although not exclusively - to regional and remote Western Australia, would improve with the full sale of Telstra. She could not give us that guarantee. I found that enlightening in some ways, but quite amazing in others. The very basis on which the sale of Telstra is being promoted is that it will provide better telecommunications services for people in Australia generally. I would have thought that an answer to a fundamental question such as that would have to be in the affirmative, yet it was not. Also, she did not provide any detail of the percentage of funding that we in Western Australia might be expected to attract from the $1.1 billion Telstra infrastructure fund. One billion dollars of that will go into improving broadband services, which the member for Riverton has quite rightly pointed out is an issue not only in regional and remote Western Australia, but also in the metropolitan area. In fact, any place that is about 10 kilometres from the central business district has broadband problems. Since that meeting yesterday, we have subsequently heard that the national figure now known as Barnaby - Barnaby Joyce - has basically cleared the way for that full privatisation. There is no reason whatsoever for Western Australia to be optimistic. It is unfortunate that the Western Australian senators on the government side of the chamber in the federal Parliament have not been able to exercise any influence whatsoever over the federal government and its decision. There is no indication that Western Australia will get any benefit at all. In fact, as I said, if we put a line through yesterday’s meeting, one would only be pessimistic and come to the conclusion that this is a move that is bad for Western Australia and will deliver us no benefit. Senator Coonan had the opportunity yesterday to make a statement in Western Australia, and she did not.
There is no reason whatsoever for Western Australia to be optimistic. It is unfortunate that the Western Australian senators on the government side of the chamber in the federal Parliament have not been able to exercise any influence whatsoever over the federal government and its decision. There is no indication that Western Australia will get any benefit at all. In fact, as I said, if we put a line through yesterday’s meeting, one would only be pessimistic and come to the conclusion that this is a move that is bad for Western Australia and will deliver us no benefit. Senator Coonan had the opportunity yesterday to make a statement in Western Australia, and she did not.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER replied: I thank the member for some notice of this question. The online ministerial council was an interesting meeting. It was the first time I had attended an online ministerial council meeting and the first time Senator Helen Coonan had attended one. The question that was begging to be answered was: what benefits will flow to Western Australia from the full privatisation of Telstra? I asked if Senator Coonan could guarantee that telecommunications services to Western Australia, particularly - although not exclusively - to regional and remote Western Australia, would improve with the full sale of Telstra. She could not give us that guarantee. I found that enlightening in some ways, but quite amazing in others. The very basis on which the sale of Telstra is being promoted is that it will provide better telecommunications services for people in Australia generally. I would have thought that an answer to a fundamental question such as that would have to be in the affirmative, yet it was not. Also, she did not provide any detail of the percentage of funding that we in Western Australia might be expected to attract from the $1.1 billion Telstra infrastructure fund. One billion dollars of that will go into improving broadband services, which the member for Riverton has quite rightly pointed out is an issue not only in regional and remote Western Australia, but also in the metropolitan area. In fact, any place that is about 10 kilometres from the central business district has broadband problems. Since that meeting yesterday, we have subsequently heard that the national figure now known as Barnaby - Barnaby Joyce - has basically cleared the way for that full privatisation. There is no reason whatsoever for Western Australia to be optimistic. It is unfortunate that the Western Australian senators on the government side of the chamber in the federal Parliament have not been able to exercise any influence whatsoever over the federal government and its decision. There is no indication that Western Australia will get any benefit at all. In fact, as I said, if we put a line through yesterday’s meeting, one would only be pessimistic and come to the conclusion that this is a move that is bad for Western Australia and will deliver us no benefit. Senator Coonan had the opportunity yesterday to make a statement in Western Australia, and she did not.
I thank the member for some notice of this question. The online ministerial council was an interesting meeting. It was the first time I had attended an online ministerial council meeting and the first time Senator Helen Coonan had attended one. The question that was begging to be answered was: what benefits will flow to Western Australia from the full privatisation of Telstra? I asked if Senator Coonan could guarantee that telecommunications services to Western Australia, particularly - although not exclusively - to regional and remote Western Australia, would improve with the full sale of Telstra. She could not give us that guarantee. I found that enlightening in some ways, but quite amazing in others. The very basis on which the sale of Telstra is being promoted is that it will provide better telecommunications services for people in Australia generally. I would have thought that an answer to a fundamental question such as that would have to be in the affirmative, yet it was not. Also, she did not provide any detail of the percentage of funding that we in Western Australia might be expected to attract from the $1.1 billion Telstra infrastructure fund. One billion dollars of that will go into improving broadband services, which the member for Riverton has quite rightly pointed out is an issue not only in regional and remote Western Australia, but also in the metropolitan area. In fact, any place that is about 10 kilometres from the central business district has broadband problems. Since that meeting yesterday, we have subsequently heard that the national figure now known as Barnaby - Barnaby Joyce - has basically cleared the way for that full privatisation. There is no reason whatsoever for Western Australia to be optimistic. It is unfortunate that the Western Australian senators on the government side of the chamber in the federal Parliament have not been able to exercise any influence whatsoever over the federal government and its decision. There is no indication that Western Australia will get any benefit at all. In fact, as I said, if we put a line through yesterday’s meeting, one would only be pessimistic and come to the conclusion that this is a move that is bad for Western Australia and will deliver us no benefit. Senator Coonan had the opportunity yesterday to make a statement in Western Australia, and she did not.
There is no reason whatsoever for Western Australia to be optimistic. It is unfortunate that the Western Australian senators on the government side of the chamber in the federal Parliament have not been able to exercise any influence whatsoever over the federal government and its decision. There is no indication that Western Australia will get any benefit at all. In fact, as I said, if we put a line through yesterday’s meeting, one would only be pessimistic and come to the conclusion that this is a move that is bad for Western Australia and will deliver us no benefit. Senator Coonan had the opportunity yesterday to make a statement in Western Australia, and she did not.
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