Protecting Services for Rural and Regional Australia into the Future Bill 2007
The Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (Protecting Services for Rural and Regional Australia into the Future) Bill 2007 was introduced into the House of Representatives in June 2007. The Bill requires the Minister to take all reasonable steps to ensure that the Communications Fund Special Account (Fund) maintains a balance of at least $2 billion.
The Fund was created using funds from the 2005 share sale of Telstra, for the purpose of financing the provision of telecommunications services to rural areas. The Parliamentary Library has released an analysis of the Bill (Analysis), detailing the background to the Bill (and the Fund) and the positions of interest groups and the press on the Bill's potential impact.
In brief, the Analysis notes that:
- following compromise between the government and other parties (particularly the Nationals), the investments of the Fund will not include Telstra shares;
- the National Farmers Federation has argued for "strong legislation" dictating the manner in which funding is applied, to ensure that rural areas receive the benefits of the Fund;
- independent members have criticised $2 billion as insufficient to provide suitable services to rural areas; and
- Labor and the Democrats have argued that further legal and
Source - Blake Dawson Waldron Lawyers
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