House of Representatives Committees

| Parliamentary Joint Committee on National Broadband Network

Preliminary pages

Chair’s Foreword

Through this inquiry, the committee was presented with a number of issues that were outside the scope of the terms of reference. However, the committee concluded that these issues were important and should be reported to the Parliament, and are therefore included in various sections of the report.

Through this report, the Parliament is able to gain an overview of industry and community views associated with possible enactment of the Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (Fibre Deployment) Bill 2011 (the Bill), and also the main views related to the Government’s Fibre in New Developments policy which underpins the proposed legislation.

While the committee made a number of additional findings, the main provisions of the Bill are supported by the majority of the committee. Where the committee found areas of dispute, these were less about the Bill and more about the underlying policy that has led to this Bill.

Major findings of the report include:

Internal customer service protocols should be put in place within NBN Co to ensure that the timeframe for issuing statements is completed within benchmarked customer service timeframes.
NBN Co should commit to specific timeframes, to publish its performance on the fibre rollout against timeframes and that these commitments be subject to regulatory oversight.
Investigation into the possible impact on risk premiums of regular changes in development regulations with appropriate measures to be put in place to anticipate this type of outcome and rectify any negative consequence.

In relation to the Bill’s possible impact on competition in the existing fibre provider market in new developments, the committee acknowledged the views put forward by fibre industry groups. These industry groups highlighted the potential adverse impact that the Government’s existing Fibre in New Developments policy may have for smaller existing fibre providers, and the committee is urging the Government to review these concerns.

Taking into consideration the findings and recommendations of the Australian Government Competitive Neutrality Complaints Office report when it is released, it is important that the Government investigate (with a view to rectifying if necessary) the degree to which the rollout of the National Broadband Network has the potential to diminish competition in the fibre provider market.

I thank those who contributed to this inquiry by providing submissions or appearing in person before the committee.

Mr Robert Oakeshott MP
Chair

Committee Membership

Chair	Mr Robert Oakeshott MP
Deputy Chair	Mrs Yvette D’Ath MP
Members	Mr Paul Fletcher MP	Senator Simon Birmingham
	Mr Luke Hartsuyker MP	Senator Carol Brown
	Mr Ed Husic MP	Senator Doug Cameron
	Hon Sussan Ley MP	Senator Mary Jo Fisher
	Ms Michelle Rowland MP	Senator Scott Ludlam
	Mr Mike Symon MP	Senator the Hon Ian Macdonald
	Hon Malcolm Turnbull MP	Senator the Hon Ursula Stephens

Participating Members

	Senator the Hon Eric Abetz	Senator Steve Hutchins (from 24.3.2011 until 30.6.2011)
	Senator Judith Adams	Senator the Hon David Johnston
	Senator Chris Back	Senator Barnaby Joyce
	Senator Guy Barnett (until 30.6.2011)	Senator Helen Kroger
	Senator Cory Bernardi	Senator Gavin Marshall (from 24.3.2011)
	Senator Catryna Bilyk (from 24.3.2011)	Senator the Hon Brett Mason
	Senator Mark Bishop (from 24.3.2011)	Senator Anne McEwan (from 24.3.2011)
	Senator the Hon Ronald Boswell	Senator Julian McGauran (until 30.6.2011)
	Senator Sue Boyce	Senator the Hon Nick Minchin (until 30.6.2011)
	Senator the Hon George Brandis SC	Senator Claire Moore (from 24.3.2011)
	Senator David Bushby	Senator Fiona Nash
	Senator Michaelia Cash	Mr Paul Neville MP (from 10.5.2011)
	Senator the Hon Richard Colbeck	Senator Kerry O’Brien (from 24.3.2011 until 30.6.2011)
	Senator the Hon Helen Coonan	Senator Stephen Parry
	Senator Mathias Cormann	Senator Marise Payne
	Senator Trish Crossin (from 24.3.2011)	Senator Helen Polley (from 24.3.2011)
	Senator Alan Eggleston	Senator Louise Pratt (from 24.3.2011)
	Senator the Hon John Faulkner (from 24.3.2011)	Senator the Hon Michael Ronaldson
	Senator the Hon Alan Ferguson (until 30.6.2011)	Senator Scott Ryan
	Senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells	Hon Bruce Scott MP (from 26.5.2011)
	Senator Mitch Fifield	Senator the Hon Nigel Scullion
	Senator Michael Forshaw (from 24.3.2011 until 30.6.2011)	Senator Glenn Sterle (from 24.3.2011)
	Senator Mark Furner (from 24.3.2011)	Senator the Hon Judith Troeth (until 30.6.2011)
	Senator the Hon Bill Heffernan	Senator Russell Trood (until 30.6.2011)
	Senator Gary Humphries	Senator John Williams
	Senator Annette Hurley (from 24.3.2011 until 30.6.2011)	Senator Dana Wortley (from 24.3.2011 until 30.6.2011)
		Senator Nick Xenophon

Committee Secretariat

Committee Secretary	Mr Peter Stephens
Inquiry Secretary	Ms Stephanie Mikac

Terms of Reference

On 12 May 2011, the Joint Committee on the National Broadband Network resolved to adopt for inquiry the provisions of the Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (Fibre Deployment) Bill 2011, as referred by the House of Representatives Selection Committee on 10 May 2011.

Committee Membership

ACCAN	Australian Communications Consumer Action Network
ACCC	Australian Competition and Consumer Commission
ACMA	Australian Communications and Media Authority
Act	Telecommunications Act 1997
ADSL	Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line
AGCNCO	Australian Government Competitive Neutrality Complaints Office
Bill	Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (Fibre Deployment) Bill 2011
BOT	Build-Operate-Transfer
CA	Communications Alliance
CCTV	Closed Circuit Television
Cwlth	Commonwealth
DBCDE	Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy
EM	Explanatory Memorandum
FTA TV	Free-to-Air television
FTTB	Fibre-to-the-Building
FTTN	Fibre-to-the-Node
FTTP	Fibre-to-the-Premises
GFOA	Greenfield Fibre Operators of Australia
HIA	Housing Industry Association
IPTV	Internet Protocol Television
Mbps	Megabits per second
Minister	Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy
NBN	National Broadband Network
NBN Co	NBN Co Limited
RF	Radio Frequency
RIS	Regulation Impact Statement
RSP	Retail Service Provider
TV	Television
UDIA	Urban Development Institute of Australia
ULLS	Unconditional Local Loop Service
USO	Universal Service Obligations
USP	Universal Service Provider
UTA	Urban Taskforce Australia

Recommendation

Part 1 – General Amendments

Recommendation 1

The committee recommends that the Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (Fibre Deployment) Bill 2011 be passed.

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