APPENDIX 1
Terms of Reference
(1) That a select committee, to be known as the Select
Committee on the National Broadband Network, be established to inquire into and
report by 30 March 2009 on:
(a) the Government's proposal to partner with the private
sector to upgrade parts of the existing network to fibre to provide minimum
broadband speeds of 12 megabits per second to 98 per cent of Australians on an
open access basis; and
(b) the implications of the proposed National Broadband Network
(NBN) for consumers in terms of:
-
service availability, choice and costs,
-
competition in telecommunications and
broadband services, and
-
likely consequences for national
productivity, investment, economic growth, cost of living and social capital.
(2) That the committee's investigation include, but not be
limited to:
(a) the availability, price, level of innovation and service
characteristics of broadband products presently available, the extent to which
those services are delivered by established and emerging providers, the likely
future improvements in broadband services (including the prospects of private
investment in fibre, wireless or other access networks) and the need for this
government intervention in the market;
(b) the effects on the availability, price, choice, level of
innovation and service characteristics of broadband products if the NBN
proceeds;
(c) the extent of demand for currently available broadband
services, what factors influence consumer choice for broadband products and the
effect on demand if the Government's fibre-to-the-node (FTTN) proposal
proceeds;
(d) what technical, economic, commercial, regulatory and social
barriers may impede the attainment of the Government's stated goal for
broadband availability and performance;
(e) the appropriate public policy goals for communications in
Australia and the nature of regulatory settings that are needed, if FTTN or
fibre-to-the-premise (FTTP), to continue to develop competitive market
conditions, improved services, lower prices and innovation given the likely
natural monopoly characteristics and longevity of the proposed network
architecture;
(f) the possible implications for competition, consumer choice,
prices, the need for public funding, private investment, national productivity,
if the Government does not create appropriate regulatory settings for the NBN;
(g) the role of government and its relationship with the
private sector and existing private investment in the telecommunications
sector;
(h) the effect of the NBN proposal on existing property or
contractual rights of competitors, supplier and other industry participants and
the exposure to claims for compensation;
(i)
the effect of the proposed NBN on the
delivery of Universal Service Obligations services;
(j)
whether, and if so to what extent, the
former Government's OPEL initiative would have assisted making higher speed and
more affordable broadband services to areas under-serviced by the private
sector; and
(k) the cost estimates on which the Government has based its
policy settings for a NBN, how those cost estimates were derived, and whether
they are robust and comprehensive.
(3) That, in carrying out this inquiry, the committee will:
(a) expressly seek the input of the telecommunications
industry, industry analysts, consumer advocates, broadband users and service
providers;
(b) request formal submissions that directly respond to the
terms of reference from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, the
Productivity Commission, Infrastructure Australia, the Department of the
Treasury, the Department of Finance and Deregulation, and the Department of
Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government;
(c) invite contributions from organisations and individuals
with expertise in:
-
public policy formulation and
evaluation,
-
technical considerations including
network architecture, interconnection and emerging technology,
-
regulatory framework, open access,
competition and pricing practice,
-
private sector telecommunications
retail and wholesale business including business case analysis and price and
demand sensitivities,
-
contemporary broadband investment, law
and finance,
-
network operation, technical options
and functionality of the ‘last mile' link to premises, and
-
relevant and comparative international
experiences and insights applicable to the Australian context;
(d) advertise for submissions from members of the public and to
the fullest extent possible, conduct hearings and receive evidence in a manner
that is open and transparent to the public; and
(e) recognise the Government's NBN proposal represents a
significant public sector intervention into an increasingly important area of
private sector activity and that the market is seeking openness, certainty and
transparency in the public policy deliberations.
(4) That the committee consist of 7 senators, 2 nominated by
the Leader of the Government in the Senate, 4 nominated by the Leader of the
Opposition in the Senate, and 1 nominated by any minority party or independent
senators.
(5) (a) On the nominations of the Leader of the Government in
the Senate, the Leader of the Opposition in
the Senate and any minority party and independent senators, participating
members may be appointed to the committee;
(b) participating members may participate in hearings of
evidence and deliberations of the committee, and have all the rights of members
of the committee, but may not vote on any questions before the committee; and
(c) a participating member shall be taken to be a member of the
committee for the purpose of forming a quorum of the committee if a majority of
members of the committee is not present.
(6) That
the committee may proceed to the dispatch of business notwithstanding that all
members have not been duly nominated and appointed and notwithstanding any
vacancy.
(7) That the committee elect as chair one of the members
nominated by the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate.
(8) That the chair of the committee may, from time to time,
appoint another member of the committee to be the deputy chair of the
committee, and that the member so appointed act as chair of the committee at
any time when there is no chair or the chair is not present at a meeting of the
committee.
(9) That, in the event of an equally divided vote, the chair,
or the deputy chair when acting as chair, have a casting vote.
(10) That the committee have power to appoint subcommittees
consisting of 3 or more of its members, and to refer to any such subcommittee
any of the matters which the committee is empowered to examine.
(11)
That the committee and any subcommittee
have power to send for and examine persons and documents, to move from place to
place, to sit in public or in private, notwithstanding any prorogation of the
Parliament or dissolution of the House of Representatives, and have leave to
report from time to time its proceedings and the evidence taken and such
interim recommendations as it may deem fit.
(12) That the committee be provided with all necessary staff,
facilities and resources and be empowered to appoint persons with specialist
knowledge for the purposes of the committee with the approval of the President.
(13) That the committee be empowered to print from day to day
such papers and evidence as may be ordered by it, and a daily Hansard be
published of such proceedings as take place in public.
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