The Australian Labor Party, in conjunction with the Democrats, today initiated two Senate inquiries; one into universal broadband access and one into the role of public libraries in providing public Internet access.
The Senate Environment, Communications, information Technology and Arts References Committee will conduct both the inquiries.
In relation to broadband access, the purpose of the inquiry is to investigate the capacity of the Australian telecommunications network and its ability to deliver an adequate service to all Australians, particularly those living in rural and regional areas.
The Committee will also inquire into the capacity of the Australian telecommunications network to provide all Australians with reasonable, comparable and equitable access to broadband services.
“This inquiry will build on my successful pair gain campaign which has highlighted significant weaknesses in Telstra’s copper network and the capacity of this network to service Australia’s future broadband needs, Senate Lundy said.
In relation to the inquiry into the role of public libraries into providing public access to the Internet, the Committee will inquire into the accessibility of public access through libraries, possible strategies which could improve the information resources of libraries and the use of libraries to meet community demand for public information in the online environment.
Media contact: Simon Tatz on (02) 6277 3334 or 0418 488 295.
