Greens To Seek Amendments On Telecommunications Bill

Green MP Sue Kedgley today said while the Greens supported the thrust of legislation to regulate telecommunications in New Zealand, it did not go far enough and the party would be moving amendments to strengthen the legislation.

Ms Kedgley said the Greens believed that the legislation should require Telecom to allow competitors to lease access to its copper wire network so that consumers could benefit from genuine competition.

"If New Zealand is serious about a knowledge-based internet economy then we must ensure all consumers and businesses have access to high speed internet and data services," said Ms Kedgley.

"Ending Telecom's monopoly control on the copper wire network is an essential step in providing that access and this is what the Greens will be seeking through our amendments."

Ms Kedgley said it was recognised internationally that telecommunications infrastructure is the access-way into the information economy and it was important for the Government to acknowledge this.

"Cheap, high speed communication is increasingly the life-blood of business, but at present our businesses (and especially our rural people) are being constrained and disadvantaged by their inability to access the high speed data and internet services they need to compete internationally," Ms Kedgley said

"The economic costs to New Zealand of this bottleneck to our telecommunications infrastructure are substantial, and it is limiting the emergence of new innovative telecommunications services at fair prices for consumers."

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