 
PM must reprimand Nelson for misrepresenting Senator Lundy
The Prime Minister must reprimand the Minister for Education and Training, Brendan Nelson for misrepresenting Senator Lundy in Question Time today.
The Minister misled the House by wrongly attributing quotes made in a media release dated May 20 2002 to Senator Lundy (a copy of the release is attached).
In her release, Senator Lundy had used specific quotes from members of the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) industry to illustrate their widespread disappointment with the Coalition’s Budget.
It is disappointing that the only response that the Coalition can manage to offer to the concerns of the ICT industry is to mislead Parliament by levelling baseless accusations at a Labor member.
The Coalition released an unsatisfactory ICT budget, and the whole industry knows it. Brendan Nelson must immediately apologise for misrepresenting Senator Lundy.
Media contact: Simon Tatz on 02 6277 3334 or 0418 488 295
7.30 Report makes more Australians aware of Telstra Pair Gains
The 7.30 Report’s expose of Telstra’s use of pair gain technology last night has made more Australians aware that they are being short changed by the giant telco, the Shadow Minister for Information Technology, Senator Kate Lundy, said today.
“Within a couple of hours of last night’s 7.30 Report, I received dozens of responses to my Pair Gain Victims web site, mostly from people who have never been told by Telstra that a pair gain might be the cause of their slow internet connection and inability to get broadband,” Senator Lundy said.
“These are just some of the one million or so people who have a pair gain connection, but have never been told because of Telstra’s policy to keep them secret.
Here are some comments received last night from Australians with a pair gain:
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Prior to the 7:30 report last evening, I thought my predicament was an isolated instance. |
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I have been labouring under Telstra’s pair gain system which has given me only half of the telephone line that other people have … I demand Telstra refund me half of what I have paid in line rental in the past. |
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Thanks at last for finding other people who understand the frustration of Telstra. I suffer from the Telstra affliction at both my home and my office, forcing me to use high cost ISDN at the office and a clumsy and expensive satellite system at home. |
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When requesting a second phone line installed, I queried if ADSL would be available on the new line and was told that it would be … Now I am stuck with … two lines that are incapable of ADSL. I unfortunately did not know that my original line was pair gain nor was I told when it was installed. |
“Clearly, Telstra can not hide this problem from Australians any longer. Customers are waking up to the true extent of its backward thinking.
“I eagerly await the results of the ACCC investigation into Telstra over this issue, but in the mean time, I call on the Minister for Communications to join me in demanding that Telstra be honest with their customers,” Senator Lundy concluded.
Senator Lundy’s Pair Gain Victim web site is located at http://www.katelundy.com.au/Pairgainvictims.htm
Media Contact: Simon Tatz on 6277 3334 or 0418 488 295
Telstra finally ‘fesses up – over 1 million Telstra customers affected by pair gain.
Under pressure from Senator Kate Lundy’s ‘Pair Gain Victims’ campaign, Telstra has finally revealed the full impact of its use of pair gains, telling a Senate Estimates committee that one million customers are affected by the technology.
Previously, Telstra had stated that nine percent of its connections used a pair gain, but in Senate Estimates yesterday, it conceded that this amounted to one million customers.
“That’s one million customers who have to put up with inferior internet speeds and telephone services, and one million customers who, Telstra has also admitted, cannot receive its ADSL broadband service,” Senator Lundy said.
“Of this one million, at least 125, 000 are rural and regional people, accessing the internet via the inferior service provided through pair-gains. Any claim that Telstra is improving services to the bush is ridiculous.
“Although such a large number of Australians have been supplied with pair gain technology, Telstra’s policy of secrecy remains: by its own admission it does not to inform its customers when a pair gain is used, even though it reduces internet speed, denies access to ADSL broadband, and in some circumstances may restrict normal telephone use.
“This practice also raises questions whether Telstra’s recent advertising of its broadband services may be misleading. These adverts make no mention of the fact that a million customers can not receive ADSL because of pair gain technology.”
Pair gain technology involves splitting the single telephone line into two halves. Telstra has already confirmed that when many customers order a second dedicated phone line, they simply split the phone line in two – but charge for a completely new service. This can effectively halve the available bandwidth, often reducing capacity to no more than 28 kilo bits per second, regardless of the modem used.
“Telstra can no longer dance around, denying that its use of pair gain technology is a problem, because one million Australians are proving that it is wrong. It must meet its social obligations, invest in the community, and provide a twenty-first century network,” Senator Lundy concluded
Media Contact: Simon Tatz on 6277 3334 or 0418 488 295
Senator Kate Lundy- Shadow Minister for Sport
and
Carmen Lawrence MP- Shadow Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island Affairs and Reconciliation
Ruddock ignores importance of Indigenous sport
Sport and physical activities are tremendously important to Aboriginal and Islander people, yet Minister Ruddock did not even mention this in his budget statement on Indigenous Affairs.
Indigenous Australians are still being discriminated against in terms of sporting opportunities and sporting infrastructure. Yet there is no money, programs or even a mention of this in the budget.
The Australian Sports Commission provides only $1.5 million for Indigenous Sport, a paltry amount considering the overwhelming disadvantages that confront Indigenous sport. There is an urgent need for sporting infrastructure and expertise in Aboriginal and Islander communities.
In fact, a 1997 House of Representatives report found that nearly every Indigenous community listed as their number one priority sport and recreational activities – before clean water, before 24-hour power, before roads. This is no doubt because of the important role sport plays in health and self esteem. Sport and recreational activities contribute to better health and social outcomes in Indigenous communities.
But despite the urgent need to improve Aboriginal and Islander sporting opportunities, the Howard Government has done little for Indigenous sport, other than host a cricket match in Canberra – a match which ATSIC was required to fund, at a cost of $100,000.
Where are the training camps, mentoring programs and sports science for Aboriginal and Islander athletes, Mr Ruddock? Where are the infrastructure programs so that young Aboriginal and Islander children can play on decent fields, train with proper coaches, have access to sports medicine and attend regular, organised sporting events? Where are the schemes to help overcome the tyranny of distance, which prevents many Indigenous athletes from competing in events and competitions?
It is not enough to just honour those who have brought sporting glory to Australia. Every Indigenous child and teenager needs access to sporting fun and opportunities.
Australia has a pitiful and disgraceful history of discrimination in sport, and this must be addressed as part of any strategy to improve the image and identity of Indigenous people.
Media contacts: Carmen Lawrence (Jo Fox 041 996 3486) Kate Lundy (Simon Tatz 0418 488 295)
Kate Lundy speaks at ACT ‘Labor for Refugees’ Forum
The community needs fundamentally to rethink the language it uses to describe Australia’s refugee situation before real humanitarian progress can be made, the Senator for the ACT, Kate Lundy said last night.
Speaking at a Public Forum on refugee policy, Senator Lundy said expressed her opinion on a range of issues relating to refugee policy: “John Howard co-opted the legitimate terminology that applies to one mechanism of protecting our freedoms and used it to undermine our core values.
“He took ‘border protection’ and turned it into code for treating a group of desperate people as less than human.”
Senator Lundy called for a shift in the way the community interprets the refugee issue, and called on the Labor Party to be responsive to the values in the community.
“We should stop using the language of John Howard. That is the language of racism and victimisation of those most in need. We should not reinforce the perception that asylum seekers are a threat and should be feared. We should not contribute to a self-fulling prophecy where asylum seekers are assumed to be guilty of something and therefore treated as convicted felons.
“We need to remind ourselves that seeking asylum is not an illegal activity. Asylum seekers are not illegal immigrants until their claims have been tested under Australian law, and found to be wanting.
“Labor is committed to developing a comprehensive and lasting solution on these issues. That is why Labor’s conversation with the community on this issue is so important. We must consult directly and we must make ourselves open and accessible to the views of all.”
Click here for the full text of the address.
Media Contact: Simon Tatz: 02 6277 3334; 0418 488 295
Why can’t we see the Super 12 final?
Once again, sports fans are being dudded.
This Saturday, the ACT Brumbies defend their Super 12 title against the undefeated Canterbury Crusaders in Christchurch. The match begins at 5.30 Eastern Standard Time; yet the Super 12 final will not be shown on free-to-air television. In fact, it will not be shown in NSW or the ACT until the following day.
The Super 12 final will be shown on Foxtel, who have done an excellent job in promoting and broadcasting the Super 12 series. The majority of the community, however, do not subscribe to
pay-television; either because they cannot afford to or are unable to access a pay-television service.
It is simply unfair that rugby fans across Australia, and in the ACT in particular, are being denied a chance to watch the Brumbies play in the Super 12 final.
It is very concerning that the people of Canberra are being denied the opportunity to watch the Super 12 final on free-to-air television.
Clearly, the Coalition’s anti-siphoning legislation needs revision.
The Government has had seven years to note the impact of pay-television on sporting coverage. It is now obvious that the anti-siphoning list needs to be revised so that it takes into account critical finals and similar events not available on free-to-air television.
Senator Alston, the Minister for Communications, must ensure that this situation does not occur again.
Media Contact: Simon Tatz on 6277 3334 or 0418 488 295
Senator Lundy welcomes announcement of ICT Centre of Excellence
Canberra’s status as a leading centre for Information and Communications Technology (ICT) was given a boost by today’s announcement that the National ICT Australia consortium has been awarded the right to manage Australia’s ICT Centre of Excellence, the Shadow Minister for Information Technology, Senator Kate Lundy, said today.
“The ICT Centre of Excellence announcement marks a solitary bright spot in the Coalition’s otherwise barren commitment to the development of Australia’s ICT industry. We have been waiting for a long time to hear who the successful proponent would be,” Senator Lundy said.
“The choice of National ICT Australia to run the Centre recognises the contribution of the ACT region to the ICT sector. We have a proud and dynamic coterie of Australian small and medium-sized enterprises, particularly in the software sector.
“I hope that the critical mass in research and development generated here by the Centre will lead to greater commercialisation of R&D and the creation of new start-up companies. These will be important knowledge jobs for the ACT region.
“It appears there was a competitive field vying for the privilege of managing the Centre, and it is heartening to see that innovative work is being performed by other organisations in the private sector. I urge the Government to provide more opportunities so that the Australian ICT sector can continue to grow.” Senator Lundy concluded.
Media Contact: Simon Tatz: 02 6277 3334; 0418 488 295
Kemp can’t be trusted on AIS funding
Rod Kemp may be looking to use the proposed Gungahlin Drive extension as an excuse to withhold $65 million in Commonwealth funding for the Bruce campus of the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS).
In a Media Release on 16 May, Senator Kemp implied that the $65 million would only be spent if the proposed Gungahlin Drive extension were abandoned.
Senator Kemp, Australian Sports Commission Chairman Peter Bartels and CEO Mark Peters have all publicly linked the future of the AIS with the proposed Gungahlin extension. They are demonstrating a degree of contempt by not indicating a willingness to negotiate with the ACT Government.
The Gungahlin Drive extension issue was decided at the last ACT election, and the ACT Government is currently negotiating in good faith to address the concerns of the AIS and to work constructively towards a satisfactory outcome.
However, Senator Kemp’s political intervention appears to be laying the groundwork for the Coalition to withhold their proposed funding for the AIS. After all, they have form in this regard.
The Howard Government has already shown they can’t be trusted to honour their election promises when it comes to sport funding. In May 2001, the Coalition pledged $90 million for capital works associated with the upgrading of the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) for the staging of the 2006 Commonwealth Games. The Coalition now claims that the $90 million is contingent on the imposition of the Coalition’s industrial relations laws.
I call on Senator Kemp to guarantee today that funding for the AIS is not contingent on the abandonment of the proposed Gungahlin Drive extension.
Media contact: Simon Tatz on 6277 3334 or 0418 488 295 |
