Libs won't push for Telstra break-up

Shadow Communications Minister Nick Minchin this week said the opposition would not support calls from Telstra's rivals for the telco to be broken up into chunks.

Any decisions regarding structural separation should be left to the Telstra board and its 1.6 million shareholders

Nick Minchin

"Any decisions regarding structural separation should be left to the Telstra board and its 1.6 million shareholders," Minchin said in a statement today. The comments came after a verbal duel between Communications Minister Stephen Conroy and Minchin at a Senate Estimates hearing on Tuesday over whether Conroy would "rule out forced structural separation" of Telstra to resolve the industry's woes.

Conroy had replied: "I am not advocating it. I have never advocated it."

The positions of the two mean that neither major party will be pushing for Telstra's structural separation — an outcome that Optus, in its submission on the government's Regulatory reform for the 21st Century Broadband discussion paper, has called for immediately via the re-creation of Telstra's wholesale arm as a separated "Access Service Company".

Graeme Samuel, chairman of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, recently hinted at support for separation of Telstra when he noted that Telstra's vertical integration "has significantly constrained competition".

By yesterday the government had received over 90 submissions on the issue of regulatory reform in the telco sector from carriers, state and local governments, industry groups, emergency service organisations and consumer groups, according to a statement by Conroy yesterday afternoon.

I am not advocating it. I have never advocated it.

Stephen Conroy

"The energetic response to this consultation reflects strong stakeholder sentiment that the current telecommunications regime needs to be reformed to improve competition and strengthen consumer safeguards, as well as remove redundant and inefficient red tape," said Conroy.

However, the opposition did not make a submission, according to Minchin's spokesperson.

Conroy pointed out in the Estimates hearing that the issue of structural separation — as opposed to operational or functional separation, which has to an extent already occurred — "is not in the [Regulatory Reform for 21st Century Broadband] paper."

"It is not in the paper. I do not believe I have ever advocated it. Telstra may volunteer it. Who knows?" he said.

While neither would overtly call for Telstra's separation, the discussion paper issued by Conroy denotes the government's proposed National Broadband Network as being tantamount to structural separation in the sector.