NBN 'no guarantee' of passing Senate, Minchin warns

James Riley
Tuesday, 04 August 2009 16:44

Business IT - Technology

The National Broadband Network Bill being scrutinised by a Senate Committee “is no guarantee” of being passed in its current form, the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate and shadow communications minister Nick Minchin said.

Speaking to iTWire following a Senate Environment, Communications and the Arts committee hearing in Canberra yesterday, Senator Minchin said the requirements in the NBN Bill requirements for carriers and other utilities to supply the NBN Company with commercially sensitive details of existing network infrastructure was loosely worded, and did not adequately specify how that information would be safe-guarded.

Regardless, Senator Minchin said the Coalition would not consider any NBN-related matters until Government had provided the Senate with full report from its Panel of Experts on the cancelled tender process, as well as the full report from the ACCC on that “failed RFP.”

The Senate has an outstanding order not to deal with NBN issues until Government presents both reports – and Senator Minchin said he expected the Senate will stand by that resolution.

Certainly the Liberals and Nationals intended to ensure its enforcement, though the cross benches may have the final say if the Government delays or declines to table the reports.

“This bill was rushed into the Parliament in June, without any consultation with carriers or the utilities affected,” Senator Minchin told iTWire. “In fact, the utilities found out about the bill through the media.”

“This is far reaching legislation which can compel them to provide detailed network information on pain of a $250,000 fine if they don’t.”

“We have considerable concerns about some of the detail about this bill, and I certainly don’t think its passage through the Senate is at all guaranteed.”

“Four months after the (NBN) announcement, we have no lead advisers for the implementation study, and therefore no detailed discussion with carriers or utilities about the supply of information to enable that implementation study to be done,” Senator Minchin said.

He said he expected that the Senate would defer any consideration of the NBN Bill – the Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (National Broadband Network Measures No 1) Bill 2009 – until it the two reports on the original, cancelled RFP were presented.

There was considerable concern among the Nationals and rural Liberals in particular about the Governments cancellation of the $1 billion Opel contract – signed by the previous Government with a joint-venture between Elders and Optus to provide improved broadband in the bush – and with the subsequent cancellation of the cancelled RFP.

And the Coalition were agreed that they would pursue the issue before contemplating the NBN Bill.

“The Senate itself has passed a resolution that says it will not deal with NBN-related legislation unless and until the Government provides the experts panel report into the failed RFP process and the full ACCC report,” Senator Minchin said.

“And I expect that the Senate will stand by the resolution.”

“There is no disagreement between the Liberals and the Nationals on this matter, or the way we are handling it, or on the administrative or procedural issues that we are pursuing in the Senate,” he said.