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Telecommunications Government gives new telecoms consumer body a $700k kick-start
Telecommunications Government gives new telecoms consumer body a $700k kick-start | Government gives new telecoms consumer body a $700k kick-start |
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| by Stuart Corner | |
| Tuesday, 02 December 2008 | |
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Teresa Corbin, executive director of the Consumers Telecommunications Network (CTN) told iTWire "We are talking about a whole different ball game, a much larger organisation that is much better resourced and that will lead to much better outcomes." The new body had its origins in a promise made by Conroy in his speech to the Australian Telecommunications Users Group conference in March when he said he was interested in exploring a range of options that would "provide the strong voice consumers need." To progress this Conroy organised a Consumer Stakeholder Forum in Canberra on 1 May and subsequently announced the $87,000 grant to CTN to cover costs associated with setting up the new body. Consumers handed a report to the minister outlining their plans for a new representative body on 31 July. Those plans included a proposal for ACCAN to absorb CTN and take over administration of grants funding totalling about $800,000 per year on which CTN and a number of other consumer representative bodies presently rely and which is provided under section 593 of the Telecommunications Act. This is the goal towards which ACCAN is presently working, but it is depending on funding in the May 2009 Federal Budget Announcing the $700,000 funding, Conroy said it followed the Government's recent endorsement of the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman connect.resolve campaign to improve complaints resolution in the telecommunications sector. CONTINUED |
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