Alex Zaharov-Reutt
Friday, 29 February 2008 10:07
IT Policy -
Regulation
Page 2 of 3
Telstra’s opponents are obviously pushing to get precise details of Telstra’s entire network in their quest to build a competing fibre network.
But foreign governments, including those of hostile nations, may also be interested in the details of how Australia’s national security organisations share information through the national telecommunications network.
There are also concerns that such sensitive information might fall into the hands of terrorists, who could use such information to pinpoint sensitive parts of the network that could disrupt the communications of Sydney or Melbourne’s entire CBD areas, or those of other capital cities and regional centres.
According to the Australian IT’s
report, Telstra must agree to the Minister’s request in a ‘voluntary’ fashion – or face legislative changes that would force Telstra to comply.
The report quotes part of the Minister’s letter which says: "In the event that voluntary agreement to provide the requested information is not forthcoming, the Government has decided to put in place a legislative regime to enable the collection and disclosure of relevant information if necessary. In the first instance, the Government is seeking this information on a voluntary basis."
Meanwhile the Federal Opposition is outraged.
Opposition Communications spokesperson Bruce Billson is quoted in the Australian IT report as having raised “serious questions about what the Rudd Government plans to do with this information.”
Mr Billson is then
quoted as saying: "This information is about critical infrastructure and I'd hate to think that in its efforts to find a way through the muddle of Labor's (fibre-to-the-node) pronouncements, that this information falls into the hands of people wanting to damage our national interest. The threat of government intervention if companies don't comply must be a very worrying sign for competition in the communications industry.”
The request for information is not limited to Telstra, however. Please read onto page 3.
