Minchin unloads on 'contempt' of majority report

James Riley
Monday, 26 October 2009 17:58

IT Policy - Government Tech Policy

Shadow communications spokesman Nick Minchin has lashed the majority membership of a Senate committee that recommended telecommunications reform legislation be passed, calling its report arrogant, hostile and unprecedented.

Senator Minchin, who with three other Liberal committee members issued a Dissenting Report, said the majority members had treated Telstra shareholders with contempt, and failed to consider the consequences of the legislation for Telstra employees and customers.

"I must say that the majority of this committee – frankly, like the government of the day – are treating the ordinary shareholders of Telstra, the company in which there is the widest shareholding in Australia, with complete contempt," Senator Minchin told the chamber last night following the tabling of the committee report.

"The dismissal of the outrage, anger and alarm of what are literally mum and dad shareholders in this company is quite extraordinary and quite arrogant," he said.

"The majority of the committee treat the shareholders, the employees and the customers with contempt in what is a bland dismissal of the concerns raised before the committee for the future of the company," Senator Minchin said.

At no point prior to the last election in 2007 had the ALP floated the prospect of breaking Telstra up, and had never been given a mandate for such a policy.

Further, Senator Minchin said the committee's majority report had failed to recognise that Government had made no cost-benefit of a proposed Telstra break-up – leaving Telstra employees and customers unsure of the impact of the regulatory reforms.

This was in addition to the fact that it had not done a cost-benefit of the proposed NBN, Senator Minchin said.

"The majority report of the committee also makes no reference whatsoever to the potential consequences for investment in telecommunications of the break-up of Telstra," Senator Minchin said.

In addition to its potential impact on shareholders, he chastised the committee for not investigating more thoroughly the impact of a Telstra break-up on infrastructure investment in telecommunications.

"This is a very disappointing majority report. It is weak in so many respects. It neglects some of the major issues raised by this most radical, unprecedented and extraordinary attack on a major Australian corporation," he told the Senate.