❓ A WA parliamentary question on notice addresses concerns about the full privatisation of Telstra and its potential negative impact on telecommunication services for rural and remote Western Australians, particularly regarding mobile phone coverage and internet access.
AnsweredQoN 890Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
I refer to the recent announcement by the federal Government about its intention to proceed with the full privatisation of Telstra. Will the interests of telecommunication consumers benefit from the full sale of Telstra? In particular, will the full sale of Telstra benefit people living in rural and remote Western Australia? Mr C.M. BROWN
AnswerView source ↗
I have noticed in recent days, as the member for Eyre has correctly pointed out, that the federal Government intends to pursue what has been its goal for some time, and that is to fully privatise Telstra. Those of us who take an interest in this matter know the difficulties that are faced by consumers in rural and regional Western Australia. We know that there are many problems, particularly with mobile phones and the provision and reliability of Internet access. Those are key issues for regional and rural Western Australia. I am surprised that any consideration is being given to the sale of Telstra when neither of those issues has been resolved. That means that many people in rural and regional Western Australia cannot fully participate in or are denied access to the many services that are now provided electronically by way of the Internet, such as banking services, business services and research and education services, simply because the transmission rates are too slow. The full privatisation of Telstra without putting in place the appropriate sanctions and guidelines will cause a further problem for people in rural and regional Western Australia, because the provision of services will go backwards. The interesting question about any proposal to privatise Telstra is future-proofing; that is, how can we ensure that in five to 10 years there will not be a further diminution in telecommunications services in the regions in comparison with the city? That question has not been answered. The reason it has not been answered is that the federal Government would have to put in place improved universal service obligations for telecommunications providers. The federal Government would also need to have a real national plan for telecommunications, with real targets and standards, as we have advocated for the past two years. That is something that the federal Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts and the federal Government have consistently refused to do - not failed to do but consistently refused to do. We are most concerned about any proposal to privatise Telstra. We are most concerned that the party that professes to represent regional Western Australia, the National Party - the Liberal Party has been silent on this issue, of course - is talking only about the need to raise service levels to the level of today. As members can imagine, if we had sold Telstra 10 years ago and we had brought it up to the service levels of 1990, it would be totally inadequate. I am not satisfied, and I do not think consumers and businesses, particularly small businesses, in rural and regional Western Australia will be satisfied, with this proposal. In my view, they will not vote for the full sale of Telstra, and nor should they.
Mr C.M. BROWN replied: I have noticed in recent days, as the member for Eyre has correctly pointed out, that the federal Government intends to pursue what has been its goal for some time, and that is to fully privatise Telstra. Those of us who take an interest in this matter know the difficulties that are faced by consumers in rural and regional Western Australia. We know that there are many problems, particularly with mobile phones and the provision and reliability of Internet access. Those are key issues for regional and rural Western Australia. I am surprised that any consideration is being given to the sale of Telstra when neither of those issues has been resolved. That means that many people in rural and regional Western Australia cannot fully participate in or are denied access to the many services that are now provided electronically by way of the Internet, such as banking services, business services and research and education services, simply because the transmission rates are too slow. The full privatisation of Telstra without putting in place the appropriate sanctions and guidelines will cause a further problem for people in rural and regional Western Australia, because the provision of services will go backwards. The interesting question about any proposal to privatise Telstra is future-proofing; that is, how can we ensure that in five to 10 years there will not be a further diminution in telecommunications services in the regions in comparison with the city? That question has not been answered. The reason it has not been answered is that the federal Government would have to put in place improved universal service obligations for telecommunications providers. The federal Government would also need to have a real national plan for telecommunications, with real targets and standards, as we have advocated for the past two years. That is something that the federal Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts and the federal Government have consistently refused to do - not failed to do but consistently refused to do. We are most concerned about any proposal to privatise Telstra. We are most concerned that the party that professes to represent regional Western Australia, the National Party - the Liberal Party has been silent on this issue, of course - is talking only about the need to raise service levels to the level of today. As members can imagine, if we had sold Telstra 10 years ago and we had brought it up to the service levels of 1990, it would be totally inadequate. I am not satisfied, and I do not think consumers and businesses, particularly small businesses, in rural and regional Western Australia will be satisfied, with this proposal. In my view, they will not vote for the full sale of Telstra, and nor should they.
I have noticed in recent days, as the member for Eyre has correctly pointed out, that the federal Government intends to pursue what has been its goal for some time, and that is to fully privatise Telstra. Those of us who take an interest in this matter know the difficulties that are faced by consumers in rural and regional Western Australia. We know that there are many problems, particularly with mobile phones and the provision and reliability of Internet access. Those are key issues for regional and rural Western Australia. I am surprised that any consideration is being given to the sale of Telstra when neither of those issues has been resolved. That means that many people in rural and regional Western Australia cannot fully participate in or are denied access to the many services that are now provided electronically by way of the Internet, such as banking services, business services and research and education services, simply because the transmission rates are too slow. The full privatisation of Telstra without putting in place the appropriate sanctions and guidelines will cause a further problem for people in rural and regional Western Australia, because the provision of services will go backwards. The interesting question about any proposal to privatise Telstra is future-proofing; that is, how can we ensure that in five to 10 years there will not be a further diminution in telecommunications services in the regions in comparison with the city? That question has not been answered. The reason it has not been answered is that the federal Government would have to put in place improved universal service obligations for telecommunications providers. The federal Government would also need to have a real national plan for telecommunications, with real targets and standards, as we have advocated for the past two years. That is something that the federal Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts and the federal Government have consistently refused to do - not failed to do but consistently refused to do. We are most concerned about any proposal to privatise Telstra. We are most concerned that the party that professes to represent regional Western Australia, the National Party - the Liberal Party has been silent on this issue, of course - is talking only about the need to raise service levels to the level of today. As members can imagine, if we had sold Telstra 10 years ago and we had brought it up to the service levels of 1990, it would be totally inadequate. I am not satisfied, and I do not think consumers and businesses, particularly small businesses, in rural and regional Western Australia will be satisfied, with this proposal. In my view, they will not vote for the full sale of Telstra, and nor should they.
The interesting question about any proposal to privatise Telstra is future-proofing; that is, how can we ensure that in five to 10 years there will not be a further diminution in telecommunications services in the regions in comparison with the city? That question has not been answered. The reason it has not been answered is that the federal Government would have to put in place improved universal service obligations for telecommunications providers. The federal Government would also need to have a real national plan for telecommunications, with real targets and standards, as we have advocated for the past two years. That is something that the federal Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts and the federal Government have consistently refused to do - not failed to do but consistently refused to do. We are most concerned about any proposal to privatise Telstra. We are most concerned that the party that professes to represent regional Western Australia, the National Party - the Liberal Party has been silent on this issue, of course - is talking only about the need to raise service levels to the level of today. As members can imagine, if we had sold Telstra 10 years ago and we had brought it up to the service levels of 1990, it would be totally inadequate. I am not satisfied, and I do not think consumers and businesses, particularly small businesses, in rural and regional Western Australia will be satisfied, with this proposal. In my view, they will not vote for the full sale of Telstra, and nor should they.
Mr C.M. BROWN replied: I have noticed in recent days, as the member for Eyre has correctly pointed out, that the federal Government intends to pursue what has been its goal for some time, and that is to fully privatise Telstra. Those of us who take an interest in this matter know the difficulties that are faced by consumers in rural and regional Western Australia. We know that there are many problems, particularly with mobile phones and the provision and reliability of Internet access. Those are key issues for regional and rural Western Australia. I am surprised that any consideration is being given to the sale of Telstra when neither of those issues has been resolved. That means that many people in rural and regional Western Australia cannot fully participate in or are denied access to the many services that are now provided electronically by way of the Internet, such as banking services, business services and research and education services, simply because the transmission rates are too slow. The full privatisation of Telstra without putting in place the appropriate sanctions and guidelines will cause a further problem for people in rural and regional Western Australia, because the provision of services will go backwards. The interesting question about any proposal to privatise Telstra is future-proofing; that is, how can we ensure that in five to 10 years there will not be a further diminution in telecommunications services in the regions in comparison with the city? That question has not been answered. The reason it has not been answered is that the federal Government would have to put in place improved universal service obligations for telecommunications providers. The federal Government would also need to have a real national plan for telecommunications, with real targets and standards, as we have advocated for the past two years. That is something that the federal Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts and the federal Government have consistently refused to do - not failed to do but consistently refused to do. We are most concerned about any proposal to privatise Telstra. We are most concerned that the party that professes to represent regional Western Australia, the National Party - the Liberal Party has been silent on this issue, of course - is talking only about the need to raise service levels to the level of today. As members can imagine, if we had sold Telstra 10 years ago and we had brought it up to the service levels of 1990, it would be totally inadequate. I am not satisfied, and I do not think consumers and businesses, particularly small businesses, in rural and regional Western Australia will be satisfied, with this proposal. In my view, they will not vote for the full sale of Telstra, and nor should they.
I have noticed in recent days, as the member for Eyre has correctly pointed out, that the federal Government intends to pursue what has been its goal for some time, and that is to fully privatise Telstra. Those of us who take an interest in this matter know the difficulties that are faced by consumers in rural and regional Western Australia. We know that there are many problems, particularly with mobile phones and the provision and reliability of Internet access. Those are key issues for regional and rural Western Australia. I am surprised that any consideration is being given to the sale of Telstra when neither of those issues has been resolved. That means that many people in rural and regional Western Australia cannot fully participate in or are denied access to the many services that are now provided electronically by way of the Internet, such as banking services, business services and research and education services, simply because the transmission rates are too slow. The full privatisation of Telstra without putting in place the appropriate sanctions and guidelines will cause a further problem for people in rural and regional Western Australia, because the provision of services will go backwards. The interesting question about any proposal to privatise Telstra is future-proofing; that is, how can we ensure that in five to 10 years there will not be a further diminution in telecommunications services in the regions in comparison with the city? That question has not been answered. The reason it has not been answered is that the federal Government would have to put in place improved universal service obligations for telecommunications providers. The federal Government would also need to have a real national plan for telecommunications, with real targets and standards, as we have advocated for the past two years. That is something that the federal Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts and the federal Government have consistently refused to do - not failed to do but consistently refused to do. We are most concerned about any proposal to privatise Telstra. We are most concerned that the party that professes to represent regional Western Australia, the National Party - the Liberal Party has been silent on this issue, of course - is talking only about the need to raise service levels to the level of today. As members can imagine, if we had sold Telstra 10 years ago and we had brought it up to the service levels of 1990, it would be totally inadequate. I am not satisfied, and I do not think consumers and businesses, particularly small businesses, in rural and regional Western Australia will be satisfied, with this proposal. In my view, they will not vote for the full sale of Telstra, and nor should they.
The interesting question about any proposal to privatise Telstra is future-proofing; that is, how can we ensure that in five to 10 years there will not be a further diminution in telecommunications services in the regions in comparison with the city? That question has not been answered. The reason it has not been answered is that the federal Government would have to put in place improved universal service obligations for telecommunications providers. The federal Government would also need to have a real national plan for telecommunications, with real targets and standards, as we have advocated for the past two years. That is something that the federal Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts and the federal Government have consistently refused to do - not failed to do but consistently refused to do. We are most concerned about any proposal to privatise Telstra. We are most concerned that the party that professes to represent regional Western Australia, the National Party - the Liberal Party has been silent on this issue, of course - is talking only about the need to raise service levels to the level of today. As members can imagine, if we had sold Telstra 10 years ago and we had brought it up to the service levels of 1990, it would be totally inadequate. I am not satisfied, and I do not think consumers and businesses, particularly small businesses, in rural and regional Western Australia will be satisfied, with this proposal. In my view, they will not vote for the full sale of Telstra, and nor should they.
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