Telstra pats Labor on the back for latest Bill

Lindsay Tanner, Minister for Finance and Deregulation introduced the latest Bill into the Parliament to repeal around 30 pieces of redundant regulation, on 24 June.

The Statute Stocktake (Regulatory and Other Laws) Bill 2009 includes the removal of redundant and outdated laws such as; protection for consumers from price exploitation during the changeover to the GST; obligations on digital data service providers to provide services now overtaken by technological advances; and the Income Tax (Franking Deficit) Act 1987, which had been superseded by the introduction of the New Business Tax System (Franking Deficit Tax) Act 2002.

Minister Tanner said relieving businesses and consumers of the burden of "inappropriate, ineffective or unnecessary regulation will build Australia's productive capacity and create a stronger economy".

He said the introduction of this Bill was another step in the Government's continuous regulatory reform effort.

"This Bill is one part of our wide-ranging deregulation agenda which includes working with the states and territories to deliver a seamless national economy as well as minimising red tape imposed by new and existing Commonwealth regulation," he said.

In addition to the Bill, up to 200 further pieces of unnecessary subordinate legislation will be removed during 2009.

The redundant regulation was identified through a stocktake conducted by Commonwealth Departments in 2008.

This was the first review of redundant regulation since the introduction of the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments in 2005.

Minister Tanner said leaving outdated and redundant regulation on the Statute books is not just sloppy housekeeping.

"It raises the regulatory burden for business by making it harder to identify which rules apply. It also increases the risk of businesses being subject to inconsistent or overlapping regulations," he said.

David Thodey, chief executive officer at Telstra, said the Government's efforts to reduce the regulatory burden on business would remove unnecessary costs and improve productivity and customer service.

"The Bill includes a change to remove Telstra's obligation to provide data speeds at a minimum of 64 kbps to 96 percent of the population and follows the decision last December by the Minister for Broadband, Communication and the Digital Economy, Stephen Conroy, to revoke the Digital Data Service Obligation," he said.

"The obligation had become obsolete due to improvements in broadband technology and coverage. 

"As technology improves and customer uses change we will continue to work cooperatively with the Government to identify outdated regulation for removal."

What do you think Telstra's cooperative stance with the Government? Is the telco after something?