We need to streamline the bureaucracy.
“Do you have any regulatory tools in any situation or can you only raise it to a higher authority………we do have regulatory tools but they relate to our economic function……..sorry to interrupt you but what does that mean………that actually means we might regulate a number of wholesale telecommunications services…………what about retail, do you regulate retail at all……..wholesale only……..so who regulates retail?…………I think I heard an ACMA colleague say before it was a complex regulatory environment, so it does beg the question who is in charge of what doesn’t it.”
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When it comes to the bureaucracy it’s a complex regulatory environment all right. Everything is complex, expensive and inefficient.
The sooner politicians get serious about reforming our federation the better. We don’t pay taxes to get stuffed around by big business working hand in hand with big government to shaft the little guy.
This line of questioning was around the closure of 3G services and trying to figure out who is responsible for what in the telecommunications area.
If you listen to the full clip, especially towards the end, you can see just how complex the bureaucracy in just one specific area of telecommunications can be and as a result how difficult it becomes to hold any one department or person to account.
It’s not just the duplication of services between Federal and State Governments that need to be streamlined but also within the Federal Government as a whole.
I have no doubt billions could be saved and processes improved if the bureaucracy was rationalised.
Only peoplefirstparty.au is serious about dealing with Government waste and over regulation.
Committee on 24/07/2024
Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport References Committee
Shutdown of the 3G mobile network
Senator RENNICK: You said your role is basically in regard to misleading communications. If you sign a contract with the telco for, say, two years and you’re assuming you’re going to get X level of services and 3G is then pulled, is that considered misleading communication or misleading, deceptive behaviour?
Ms Proudfoot : You would need to look at the full contract, I think. That’s the short answer. There are unfair-contract-term provisions and things like that as well, generally, in telco contracts and others. It would depend on all the facts, but it would raise concerns. One of the things we’ve particularly spoken about with the retail groups in terms of selling 3G handsets and things is that sometimes silence can be misleading. So, if you’re selling a 3G-only handset and not mentioning, ‘By the way, that’s closing in a couple of months,’ there could be concerns there.
Senator RENNICK: I’d imagine you get a fair bit of that in this day and age with upgrades, not just with telecommunications but with software, Microsoft and things like that, whereby they’re constantly upgrading, and, before you know it, what you acquired three or four years ago is now out of date, and you’ve to buy the upgrade; otherwise, everything goes.
Ms Proudfoot : Yes, so there are questions around what a reasonable period of time is before that needs to happen. All of which get considered when we’re looking at the case.
Senator RENNICK: I should disclose a conflict of interest here, a personal issue. I use Telstra and I have an email app on my phone. For some particular reason now I can’t send out emails from this particular app. I went to see Telstra, and they said: ‘We no longer support that anymore. You’ve got to use either your Gmail, Google, or an online app.’ I was really annoyed by that because it’s another example of how they withdraw services despite the fact you’re paying them. Do you have any authority to clamp down on that? Or can you only report it back to the government?
Ms Morice : Again, if that were to come, we would look at it from an ACL perspective. But I don’t think we’ve got any regulatory tools that we could use in that particular situation.
Senator RENNICK: Do you have any regulatory tools in any situation? Or is it that all you can do is raise to a higher authority?
Ms Morice : We do have regulatory tools, but they relate to our economic regulation function—
Senator RENNICK: Sorry to interrupt you, but what does that mean?
Ms Morice : That means that we actually regulate a number of wholesale telecommunications services that might have monopoly characteristics and are then available for other companies to purchase and sell on to consumers. We regulate the National Broadband Network, for example, and a number of fixed-line services.
Senator RENNICK: What about retail? You don’t regulate retail at all?
Ms Morice : No, wholesale only.
Senator RENNICK: So who regulates retail?
Ms Morice : I think I heard the ACMA colleague before say it was a complex regulatory situation, and it is a complex regulatory situation. It would depend very much on the service. For example, there are few retail regulations around mobile services.
Senator RENNICK: There are few, did you say?
Ms Morice : Yes. In terms of not being covered, we look after the Australian Consumer Law, and there may be other regulations that apply in terms of standards and things like that.
Senator RENNICK: Wouldn’t the Australian Consumer Law cover retail?
Ms Morice : Yes, but only the selling practices and things like that.
Senator RENNICK: Okay. We’ve got the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman on after lunch, and you’re here now, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, and before you we had the Australian Communications and Media Authority. They’re sort of three government organisations, or government related organisations, so it does beg the question of who’s in charge of what, to a degree, doesn’t it?
Ms Proudfoot : Our legislation is economywide, so it applies to telecommunications providers, but it’s not necessarily specific around performance or things like that for telecommunications providers. Does that make sense?
Senator RENNICK: It does, because you’re the Competition and Consumer Commission, rather than telecommunications. That’s fair enough. We’ve got the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman on next, so hopefully they will cover what you don’t. Thank you.
