Scoop has an Ethical Paywall
Work smarter with a Pro licence Learn More
Parliament

Gordon Campbell | Parliament TV | Parliament Today | Video | Questions Of the Day | Search

 

$800,000 Inquiry Should Be Canned - ACT

"The billion dollar joint venture announced between Saturn and the Australian company Telstra shows that the Government's expensive Ministerial Inquiry into telecommunications is now entirely unnecessary," said Dr Muriel Newman, ACT spokesman on telecommunications.

"The Telstra-Saturn project is not only an exciting development, but also shows the Government has no need to go ahead with spending more than $800,000 of taxpayers money on an inquiry.

"Labour has told us the inquiry is needed, among other reasons, to bring about increased competition in the domestic telephone market, the so-called 'local loop'.

But, the Tesltra-Saturn move shows the planned inquiry is simply a waste of money.

"These companies will be competing with Telecom New Zealand in all of our major cities.

They will be offering telephone, internet, pay television and interactive television services to businesses and home consumers.

Mobile phones may also be included.

"Labour's claims that Telecom had a local monopoly, restricting local competition, is clearly false.

It should now be clear to them that healthy competition is alive and well, as a result of the light handed regulatory regime that exists in New Zealand.

On that basis, their planned inquiry should be cancelled.

By saving $800,000 of the $2 million the government has already committed to inquiries since the last election, this government would be putting its money where its mouth is", Muriel Newman said.

ENDS

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading

Are you getting our free newsletter?

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.

© Scoop Media

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading
 
 
 
Parliament Headlines | Politics Headlines | Regional Headlines


Gordon Campbell: On The US Opposition To Mortgage Interest Deductibility For Landlords


Should landlords be able to deduct the interest on the loans they take out to bankroll their property speculation? The US Senate Budget Committee and Bloomberg News don't think this is a good idea, for reasons set out below. Regardless, our coalition government has been burning through a ton of political capital by giving landlords a huge $2.9 billion tax break via interest deductibility, while still preaching the need for austerity to the disabled, and to everyone else...
More


 
 

Government: Concerns Conveyed To China Over Cyber Activity
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed New Zealand’s concerns about cyber activity have been conveyed directly to the Chinese Government. “The Prime Minister and Minister Collins have expressed concerns today about malicious cyber activity... More

ALSO:


Government: GDP Decline Reinforces Government’s Fiscal Plan

Declining GDP for the December quarter reinforces the importance of restoring fiscal discipline to public spending and driving more economic growth, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says... More

ALSO:


Government: Humanitarian Support For Gaza & West Bank

Winston Peters has announced NZ is providing a further $5M to respond to the extreme humanitarian need in Gaza and the West Bank. “The impact of the Israel-Hamas conflict on civilians is absolutely appalling," he said... More


Government: New High Court Judge Appointed

Judith Collins has announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister Jason Scott McHerron as a High Court Judge. Justice McHerron graduated from the University of Otago with a BA in English Literature in 1994 and an LLB in 1996... More

 
 
 
 
 
 

LATEST HEADLINES

  • PARLIAMENT
  • POLITICS
  • REGIONAL
 
 

InfoPages News Channels


 
 
 
 

Join Our Free Newsletter

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.