30 May 2003 - Media Release

Gungahlin yet to emerge from broadband backwater

It was revealed in Senate Estimates this week that Gungahlin’s growth has caught Telstra on the hop.

When asked why 60% of Gungahlin RIM boxes were too small to house ADSL broadband enabling technology (“minimuxes”), Telstra replied that the suburb is “atypical”, containing a large number of RIMs that are already filled to capacity.

Telstra indicated that the growth of Gungahlin had exceeded the initial capacity of the RIMs deployed in the suburb - making the area a victim of the double whammy of poor technology choices and poor planning.

These facts mean that no quick fix is available for Telstra to solve Gungahlin’s broadband woes. Clearly some form of alternative broadband infrastructure will be required.

However, all that Telstra could promise was to make an announcement “towards the end of June”.

It is my hope that, in the meantime Telstra’s broadband competitors are taking Gungahlin very seriously as a business opportunity.

Over eighty residents have responded to my Gungahlin Broadband survey, clamouring to obtain broadband services in their neighbourhood. I urge any residents frustrated about the lack of broadband services to complete the survey on my website (www.katelundy.com.au).

30 May 2003. Media contact: Jason Ives on (02) 6277 3334 or 0411 237 683

29 May 2003 - Media Release

Alston’s dot.com fantasy: $4M is just the start

The huge cost blow-out to the Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts $4 million website was the result of a quixotic attempt by the Department to commercialise it, a Senate Estimates committee has heard.

Departmental representatives explained how a plan to sell the website technology to other departments and agencies led to massive expenditure.

The Department has been caught trying to cash-in on the dot.com boom, which was at its height.

The Department also confirmed that the $4 million quoted did not include the cost of Departmental resources used on the staff, such as public service staff, so the website cost is even higher.

Like everything the Minister for Information Technology touches, this dot.com fantasy met a sudden end. The Senate Committee heard how the project petered out after only one other Government department expressed interest.

The Department’s website development has been an expensive shambles from start to finish. It is astounding that this huge blow-out has been caused by a romantic desire to commercialise.

29 May 2003. Media contact: Adina Cirson - (02) 6277 3334 or the Electorate Office - 0418 488 295.

28 May 2003 - Media Release

Sports Commission should be tough on sports too

Under questioning in Senate Estimates, the Australian Sports Drug Agency (ASDA) said some sports had not fully complied with the Government’s Anti-doping assessment program for National Sporting Organisations (NSO’s), however ASDA did not reveal which sport/sports.

Surprisingly, the Australian Sports Commission (ASC) contradicted the ASDA evidence, saying in their view there were no sports that did not comply.

So who is telling the truth?

Mark Peters, CEO of the Australian Sports Commission admitted that the ASC “have a lot of discretion” and use “personal judgement” when determining what constitutes compliance of National Sporting Organisations to the Anti-Doping Assessment processes.

Therefore, the only conclusion that can be drawn is that the Sports Commission have a lesser standard for what constitutes compliance.  Given it is the Sports Commission that can apply sanctions to NSO’s for non-compliance, it comes as no surprise that the Sports Commission have not sanctioned (cut the funding) of the ‘mystery’ sport/sports to which ASDA referred.

It would appear that the Tough on Drugs in Sport program is actually the “Only if the ASC feels like being Tough on Drugs in Sport programme”.

28 May 2003 - Media Contact:  Adina Cirson 0418 488 295 or 6277 3334

27 May 2003 - Media Release

$2 billion: the cost of Telstra’s neglect

Telstra has revealed that it would cost $2 billion to replace the pair gain (line splitting) technology it has used throughout Australia.

This line splitting technology was used by Telstra to reduce its capital expenditure. Unfortunately, “pair gains” mean that over 1.2 million Australians have slower dial-up internet connection speeds as a result. They also block the 'ADSL' broadband service.

Telstra has been rolling out this inferior technology as a cost-cutting measure, and the Howard Government, obsessed with maximising the profitability of Telstra prior to privatisation, has encouraged it.

As a result Australia now has last-mile telecommunications networks that are far from future-proof. This means the existing copper network will never be able to support a high proportion of broadband penetration.

Broadband communication should be the objective of our national telecom provider - the potential benefits to the education of our children, and the competitiveness of our industry are enormous. Broadband can connect regional Australians to the services that metropolitan residents take for granted, but until our network is brought up to speed we will be missing out.

This Coalition legacy will see Australia languish as an internet backwater, whilst countries such as South Korea, Canada and Iceland outpace Australia in terms of broadband connectivity.

The $2 billion nominated by Telstra to remove all pair gains systems is the price of its negligent under-investment in the telecommunications network.

27 May 2003. Media contact: Jason Ives on (02) 6277 3334 or 0411 237 683

26 May 2003 - Media Release

Alston and Telstra: working together to give you slower internet

The Minister for Information Technology, Senator Richard Alston today told Australian internet users frustrated by slow dial-up speeds that they will have to keep waiting to be guaranteed even minimal internet speeds.

The Estens Report recommended that the Government require Telstra to guarantee a minimum internet speed of 19.2 kilobits per second, but Senator Alston’s attitude is that the current complaints-based system of guaranteeing minimum internet speeds is working, and is enough to satisfy Estens.

In other words, even if the Howard Government acts on the recommendations of the Estens Report there will be no improvement for internet users. Once again, the report has been shown to be a farce.

In Senate Estimates today I asked Senator Alston when the Howard Government would require Telstra to guarantee the appallingly slow speed mandated by Recommendation 4.1 of the Estens report, and his reply was “There is no great urgency”.

Senator Alston has given Telstra the green light to do more of the same - leaving customers with line splitting technology (pair gain systems) meaning that their internet connections will always be slow.

He continues to decide not to put pressure on the incumbent monopoly provider to improve their technology and invest in their network.

19.2 kbps is far from adequate - even Senator Alston conceded that it wasn’t world’s best practice - and still he won’t guarantee it. Senator Alston has claimed he is future proofing the Australian Telecommunications Network, but in reality he is locking it into the past.

The telecommunications debate in Australia should be about the provision of broadband services and how we use them. Instead we are arguing over 19.2 kbps dial-up speeds.

26 May 2003. Media contact: Adina Cirson - (02) 6277 3334 or the Electorate Office - 0418 488 295.

21 May 2003 - Media Release

Canberra’s own and world’s best - Michael Milton awarded Laureus

I congratulate Michael Milton, champion Paralympic skier and Canberra local, who was last night named the 2003 World’s Best Athlete with a Disability at the prestigious Laureus awards in Monte Carlo.

Michael Milton is an inspirational role model for athletes around the world, and his story is one steeped in determination, hard work and proof of where the right attitude can get you. 

Michael has shone throughout his career and truly deserves to be honoured alongside the previous Australian recipients of this award which include Louise Savage, Cathy Freeman, Vinny Lauwers and the Australian Cricket Team.

21 May  2003.  Media contact: Adina Cirson ‑ (02) 6277 3334 or the Electorate Office ‑ 0418 488 295.

20 May 2003 - Media Release

Senator Kemp and friends out of touch again

At today’s Sport Needs More Women forum, Minister for Sport, Senator Rod Kemp, demonstrated just how out of touch he and his colleagues are with both the sporting community and the broader issues facing women generally.

In opening the forum, Minister Kemp stated that “Women’s sport needs to be well resourced” and yet all we have seen from this government is a continual paring back of resources and funding across all areas of women’s sport.

Minister Kemp highlighted that the challenges facing women in sport are substantial, yet the Coalition has not taken any significant steps to address them.

His colleague Bronwyn Bishop, standing in for the Minister assisting the Prime Minister on the Status of Women, further demonstrated just how out of touch this government is.

Ms Bishop claimed that adolescent girls drop out of sport when certain parts of the anatomy start “jiggling up and down”. She went on to say that when “that time of the month” arrives girls are reluctant to participate and therefore the only girls who continue playing sport are “late developers”. The Howard Government should be embarrassed by these outrageous comments.

The Coalition has had seven years to tackle issues facing women in sport, and I call on the Howard Government to take the opportunity provided by this forum and seriously consider and address the concerns raised, rather than treat it like just another talk-fest.

It is time that Minister Kemp stopped pretending he is interested in the support of the role of women in sport and started actually paying attention to the crisis which confronts women in sport at all levels.

20 May 2003. Media contact: Adina Cirson - (02) 6277 3334 or the Electorate Office - 0418 488 295.

19 May 2003 - Media Release

Canberra Capitals to represent Australia at World Cup in Russia

Congratulations to the Canberra Capitals, who have been invited to compete at the inaugural FIBA Women’s World Cup against seven other teams in Russia between 14-19 October 2003. As reigning League Champions, they will be representing the Australian Women’s National Basketball League (WNBL).

I know that the Capitals will not only do Canberra proud, but will do a great job representing Australia as they compete against the world’s best women’s basketball teams.

On the eve of the Sport Needs More Women Forum being held in Sydney over the next two days, the Canberra Capitals are a shining example of what can be achieved in women’s sport and how highly regarded the team is by Australia and the international community.

Many Nations have long recognised the high quality of women’s sport in Australia and women athletes have consistently broken new ground for Australian sport as they continue to be ranked amongst the world’s best.

But Australia itself often undervalues the important contribution of women’s sport in the domestic and global context. Our sporting women provide a crucial link between elite and participatory sports, and are excellent role models for aspiring young athletes at all levels.

The success of the Canberra Capitals proves how crucial it is that women’s teams are given proper support and recognition to enable highly skilled players to become competitive on the international scene.

I look forward to supporting the Capitals in the lead-up to the FIBA World Cup and, as many other Women’s Sporting teams have done before, they will do Australia proud.

19 May 2003 Media Contact: Adina Cirson 0418 488 295 or 6277 3334

14 May 2003 - Media Release

Funding for internet education body slashed

NetAlert, the internet education body, has had its funding cut by two-thirds in yesterday’s budget.

NetAlert was set up to educate and empower parents so that they can protect their families from unwanted adult content on the web.

NetAlert has been hamstrung by the Coalition since its inception, receiving only $1.5 million per year to educate the rapidly growing internet using community in Australia. Now it will receive just one-third of this amount.

In March, NetAlert’s executive director, Alan Tayt, requested that the Minister fund NetAlert adequately. Mr Tayt estimated that NetAlert required between $7 to $10 million over the next three years, but in this Budget, the Minister has only responded with a token sum - even less than what was previously received.

The pittance given to NetAlert leaves it under-funded, and makes a mockery of the Howard Government’s own emphasis on the importance of educating and empowering parents and families using the internet.

14 May 2003. Media contact: Adina Cirson - (02) 6277 3334 or the Electorate Office - 0418 488 295.

14 May 2003 - Media Release

ICT gets nothing from the 2003 budget

Yesterday’s budget shows that the Coalition has no vision for the ICT sector and is not interested in creating high-wage, high-skilled jobs for the future.

There was not even any reference to any of the recommendations contained in either the Framework for the Future report, or the Broadband Advisory Group Report, which is further evidence that these were merely motherhood statements not linked to any policy vision.

The other features of the Budget relating to ICT were all bad news including:

The silence over the BITS incubator program means it will be forced to spend the next 12 months winding up operations, leaving the Australian innovation landscape without a public policy initiative to capitalise on Australia’s good ideas.

The Coalition has no interest in growing Australia’s domestic ICT industry - no interest in creating profitable exporters, and no interest in growing Australia’s high-skill, high-value jobs in this sector.

Howard and Costello’s latest Budget shows that Australia’s ICT sector has dropped off the Coalition’s radar.

14 May 2003. Media contact: Adina Cirson - (02) 6277 3334 or the Electorate Office - 0418 488 295.

3 May 2003 - Media Release

Senator Lundy launches Broadband Survey for Gungahlin and Dunlop

Gungahlin and Dunlop residents in the ACT are angry and frustrated with telecommunications companies about the lack of broadband internet services and poor mobile coverage in their suburbs.

My broadband survey is designed to demonstrate the high demand and put even greater pressure on telco’s to invest in these regions.

Fast growing outer metropolitan suburbs like Dunlop and Gungahlin have become a digital backwater under Coalition communications and competition policies and Telstra’s cost-cutting. 

The community meeting convened yesterday by Member for Fraser, Bob McMullan and myself was an opportunity for residents to get their message through to some of the telco’s. 

Transact, Optus and Telstra were asked to explain their action to date and their plans for the future. In summary: 

About 150 residents attended.  The ACT Labor Government was represented by Chief Minister and Member for Ginninderra Jon Stanhope, and Members for Molonglo Education Minister, Katy Gallagher  and Planning Minister Simon Corbell.

Another issue raised was the opportunity for the ACT Government to ensure that new suburbs in Canberra are not built with outdated communications infrastructure.  The suggestion was made that the Government ensure that all competitors have access to stimulate competition.

Media contact: Adina Cirson ‑ (02) 6277 3334 or the Electorate Office ‑ 0418 488 295.