[channel news] The Australian Government will introduce its telecommunications reform legislation to Parliament during the two-week sitting that begins on Monday week, Comms and Broadband Minister Stephen Conroy has said.
The legislation is likely to include reintroduction of the Telecommunications Legislations Amendment (Competition and Consumer Safeguards) Bill 2009, which offered Telstra the option of volunteering to structurally separate or have functional separation imposed on it.
The bill also seeks to strengthen the watchdog powers of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission over the telecoms industry.
The legislation program sets the scene for the advent of the National Broadband Network, including the proposed $11 billion deal between Telstra and the Government.
Failure of the bills to appear on the schedule announced by PM Julia Gillard at the opening of Parliament last month drew criticism from a number of industry sources.
But Stephen Conroy, in an interview with the US-based Bloomberg financial news service this week, confirmed that they would be on the table for the coming parliamentary session, which runs from Monday October 18 to Thursday October 28.
Conroy also promised to release "final figures" from NBN Co's business plan, though he stopped short of pledging the cost/benefit analysis the Opposition, led by comms spokesman Malcolm Turnbull, has been demanding.
"NBN has been finalising its business plan that will get to us in the very near future and there will be a lot of information we can put into the marketplace that will deal with the financial viability," Conroy said.
"When you see those final figures, people will take a deep breath and say it is good news."
Conroy said the proposed $11 billion deal to take over Telstra's copper network and to use Telstra's pits and ducts, would cut the cost of building the NBN by $4-6 billion.
Telecommunication Reform Bill To Go To House This Month
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