No time for Senate telecom debate: Minchin

James Riley
Sunday, 11 October 2009 14:50

IT Policy - Government Tech Policy

There are not enough sitting days left in the Parliamentary calendar to adequately debate the proposed regulatory changes to the telecommunicaitons sector this year, the leader of the Opposition in the Senate Nick Minchin says.

In addition to a week of Estimates hearings, the Senate has three sitting weeks left this year, with two of those weeks devoted to the proposed Emissions Trading Scheme legislation.

Senator Minchin, who is also shadow communications minister, backed Telstra’s calls to delay debate on the reforms until it has completed negotiations with Government over the proposed structural separation of the company into retail and wholesale units.

If the Nationals stand with their Coalition partners – and that is not yet clear – the fate of the legislation could depend on the attitude of the Senate crossbenchers, Victorian Family First senator Steve Fielding and South Australian independent Nick Xenophon.

The Greens have not formalised a position, but communications spokesman Scott Ludlam told iTWire he didn't think Telstra had made its case in calling for delays. But Senator Ludlam conceded scheduling would be difficult, given the ETS debate.

Government wants the telecom legislation passed this year, and indicated on Friday that it intended to meet that timetable.

Senator Minchin told the Ten network’s Meet the Press program Government was effectively trying to force through complex changes to telecommunications law in the four days of the last sitting week of the year.

"This bill should not be rushed through the Parliament in the three weeks remaining for the Senate this year, two of which will be devoted to climate change," he said.

"This government is proposing to push the most radical changes to Australian telecommunications through the Parliament in effectively four days. It is outrageous."

Regardless of the timing, Senator Minchin argues the legislative debate should be delayed to enable a good faith negotiation with Telstra.

"The Government knows and we all know that this NBN can't be built without the cooperation of Telstra. They should take away the gun at their head, negotiate in good faith with Telstra, and try to come to some arrangement that will save their NBN and get the gun off the table," he said.

"What they're proposing is legislative blackmail."