29 November 2002 - Media Release

Coalition responsible for $14.4 billion ICT trade deficit

Australian information and communications technology imports cost almost $20 billion in 2001-02 - twice as much as was spent on imported motor vehicles

The Coalition’s failure to encourage the development of Australia’s information and communications technology (ICT) industry is directly responsible for the huge size of the $14.4 billion ICT trade deficit in 2001-02, the Shadow Minister for Information Technology, Senator Kate Lundy said today.

Referring to an Australian Computer Society report released today which found that Australia’s deficit on ICT trade accounted for 65% of the Current Account Deficit in 2001-02, Senator Lundy said “this appalling deficit demonstrates that Australia needs to build its local ICT industry further.

“The Minister for Information Technology has previously stated that the ICT trade deficit is not worth worrying about, but if it accounts for 65% of the current account deficit, you would have to disagree.

“To tackle this huge trade deficit, Australia needs to concentrate on producing more ICT, rather than simply being an ICT consumer. Over the long term, global demand for ICT will increase, and it makes sense for Australia to contribute to this market.”

Senator Lundy criticised the Coalition’s current ICT industry development strategies as being “ineffectual”.

“After more than six years in office, the Coalition’s major commitment to the ICT industry was to form yet another committee - the Framework for the Future Committee.

“Yet nine months after they announced it, the Coalition has point blank refused to tell us when the Committee will report, or even whether the findings of the Committee will be released!” Senator Lundy said.

“Labor continues to call on the Government to take an active role in promoting ICT industry development in order to start making an impact on this enormous deficit.

“The Federal Government should start by giving Australia’s many quality ICT firms a fairer go when purchasing ICT products and services. For years the Government has favoured foreign multinational corporations for this work, which has contributed to this deficit,” Senator Lundy concluded.

Media contact: Jason Ives on (02) 6277 3334 or 0411 237 683

27 November 2002 - Media Release

The full sale of Telstra will be a disaster to the bush

Even if the recommendations from the Estens Inquiry were followed, the full privatisation of Telstra would still be a disaster for the bush, the Shadow Minister for Information Technology, Senator Kate Lundy said today.

Speaking at the 7th Annual Regional and Remote Communications Conference in Sydney, Senator Lundy said that a Telstra sell-off would lead to

“The recently released Estens Report was an exercise of codifying the conditions by which the Coalition would give itself permission to privatise,” Senator Lundy said.

“In Senate estimates hearing last week, where the opposition has a chance to ask the Minister directly about policy and programs, Senator Alston outlined the two, yes, only two, recommendations that he thought, if addressed, would constitute reasonable grounds to proceed,” Senator Lundy said.

Senator Lundy also gave several examples of policy solutions that Labor has identified to drive innovation and investment in Australia’s communications landscape, in the absence of any meaningful contribution from a Coalition Government obsessed with the full sale of Telstra.

The full copy of Senator Lundy’s speech is available on her web site – http://www.katelundy.com.au/Rural&remote.htm

Media contact: Simon Tatz  (02) 6277 3334 or Electorate Office  0418 488 295.

26 November 2002 - Media Release

Coalition stands by as multinational does over local small businesses

While the Coalition has been happy to bend over backwards to support multinational information and communications technology (ICT) companies, it has not seen fit to do the same for local small businesses, the Shadow Minister for Information Technology, Senator Kate Lundy, said today.

Senator Lundy was told in a Senate Committee that Government officers chose not to apply sanctions when IBM GSA did not deliver on a contractual requirement to provide marketing and product development to three local Australian firms.

“It is an absolute disgrace that IBM GSA has failed to deliver on three specific industry development commitments designed to assist local ICT small businesses, when these were a condition of them winning the Health Group ICT outsourcing contract,” Senator Lundy said.

“Among other things, this support was supposed to facilitate these businesses becoming Australian exporters.

“It is also completely unacceptable that the Coalition has failed to act on this omission,” Senator Lundy said.

“This demonstrates the Coalition’s complete lack of credibility when it comes to encouraging the Australian ICT industry and Australian ICT small businesses.

“I call on the Coalition to act immediately to ensure that IBM delivers in full their commitments to the small businesses affected,” Senator Lundy concluded.

Media contact: Simon Tatz (02) 6277 3334 or Electorate Office 0418 488 295.

22 November 2002 - Media Release

Australia must look beyond the Telstra debate

While the Coalition has been blinded by its obsession with the privatisation of Telstra, Labor has focused on developing an information and communications technology vision to give Australia the edge in a global economy, the Shadow Minister for Information Technology, Senator Kate Lundy said today.

In a keynote address at the “Future ISP” conference in Sydney, Senator Lundy was critical of the Coalition’s obsession with selling Telstra, which has stunted Australia’s response to the information revolution.

“The privatisation agenda has for seven years been all-encompassing,” Senator Lundy said.

“There was no real consideration of the information revolution that was taking place, or where the opportunities lay for Australia. To this day, the array of ad-hoc programs and grant schemes are still driven by the need to create the pre-conditions to sell off more of Telstra.

“Eight years since the commercialisation of the internet, the dotcom boom has come and gone, and the big debate in Australia is still the privatisation of Telstra.”

Senator Lundy concentrated on the policy mechanisms that a future Labor Government would use to drive the Australia’s economy, raising convergence, connectivity, broadband demand, competition and the creation of compelling digital content as key issues.

Senator Lundy concluded her speech by mentioning an important ingredient that the Coalition has been lacking - leadership.

“Labor understands how crucial strong leadership from the executive government is,” Senator Lundy said.

“This leadership needs to go beyond having a good idea. It requires facilitation of strong partnerships between business and government, and ensuring that the vision is shared among all stakeholders. It must be a collective goal.

“Labor believes that Australia can and should lead the world in communications excellence. We want Australia to be a place where there is excitement and inspiration as well as innovation and progress. We look forward to working with you to achieve this.”

Click here for speech.

Contact: Simon Tatz - (02) 6277 3334 or the Electorate Office - 0418 488 295.

21 November 2002 - Media Release

Telstra’s high-speed internet spend just another stunt

Telstra’s promise to throw a bit of money at internet connectivity is a feeble attempt to pacify complaints from long-suffering victims of the telco’s neglect, the Shadow Minister for Information Technology, Senator Kate Lundy, said today.

“After questioning Telstra in Senate Estimates, I discovered that the paltry offering is scarcely more than a publicity stunt consisting of a mixture of rebadged and inadequately funded projects,” Senator Lundy said.

“For example, $3 million turns out to be for the upgrade of an additional 100 exchanges to be ADSL enabled - a project already underway before this announcement.

“On a similar vein, $2 million is to be spent on making pair gain systems known as ‘RIMs’ compatible with ADSL, which was also announced previously,” Senator Lundy said.

“Another $1 million will be spent on transferring customers to alternative copper pathways, a trifling amount considering the 1.3 million pair gains services in the network. This would equate to an expenditure of less than a dollar for every one of the million or so Australians currently burdened with line splitting (pair gain) technology.

“This feeble effort will not deliver Australians the standard of internet service they require either now or into the future.

“The fact is that a privatised Telstra would never bother to expend the ongoing amounts of money required to provide regional Australians with an up-to-date telecommunications network,” Senator Lundy concluded.

Media contact: Simon Tatz - (02) 6277 3334 or Electorate Office - 0418 488 295.

21 November 2002 - Media Release

Active Australia ditched by the Howard Government

Sport Minister Rod Kemp revealed in Senate Estimates last night that the Government is ditching Active Australia, the division within the Australian Sports Commission charged with making Australians more physically active and healthy.

The Government is replacing Active Australia with a new, broader division called Ausport reflecting their all-consuming interest in elite sport - at the expense of encouraging all Australians to be physically active.

Senator Kemp told the Estimates hearing that there “is some confusion” about what Active Australia does.

The only confusion is what Senator Kemp is doing to deliver greater grass roots participation in sport and related physical activities.

It is obvious that the Coalition is not genuinely interested in increasing the number of Australians participating in healthy physical activities: if it is not organised sport, they don't want to know.

Physical activity participation rates, especially among young people, are declining under the Coalition. So the decision to abandon Active Australia is short-sighted, ill conceived and detrimental to the long-term health outlook of the nation.

Media contact: Simon Tatz on 02 62773334 or 0418 488 295

20 November 2002 - Media Release

Telstra’s Internet services will never be up to scratch

Telstra today effectively conceded that its Internet service would never be up to scratch, by suggesting the 9.58% national increase in the number of Consumer Access Network (CAN) faults related to increased user demand on data services such as the Internet.

“Telstra’s network, particularly in regional Australia where CAN faults increased by up to 50%, hasn’t been able to cope with the higher usage associated with data services such as dial-up Internet or the highspeed copper-based Internet service known as ADSL,” the Shadow Minister for Information Technology, Senator Kate Lundy said.

“This is not surprising given the extensive use of line-splitting technology by Telstra in the bush, which leads to slow Internet speeds and prevents ADSL. This is in addition to other technical reasons that limit the access of ADSL to the regions.

“For example, I was informed today that only 800 of the 5200 exchanges Australia-wide are ADSL enabled in predominantly more populated, metropolitan areas - with Telstra only having plans to upgrade another hundred.

“Telstra has no plans to upgrade 4300 exchanges, which means that the bush continues to miss out.

“Often the only broadband Internet service available to rural and regional Australians is Satellite Internet which, as Telstra conceded today, is significantly more expensive than ADSL broadband, costing customers between $600 to $800 to install, unless they happen to lie in the Extended Zone Region.

“These kinds of inadequacies in the network show that Telstra services will never be up to scratch in the bush.”

Media contact: Simon Tatz - (02) 6277 3334 or Electorate Office - 0418 488 295.

19 November 2002 - Media Release

Margaret Reid’s retirement - Libs treating the ACT with contempt

The announcement by local Liberal Gary Kent that Margaret Reid is about to retire as ACT Senator a year after she was re-elected contradicts Senator Reid’s personal commitments to Canberrans.

At the last Federal election ACT Senator Margaret Reid committed to a three-year term.

In the lead-up to the last federal election, I challenged Senator Reid to commit to a three-year term amid speculation that failed ACT Liberal leader, Gary Humphries, or disgraced former Liberal leader, Kate Carnell, were pushing for the Senate spot.

Senator Reid’s assured Canberrans that she would fulfil her full term, and her personal website stated:

In the Federal elections on 10 November 2001 Liberal Senator Margaret Reid was re-elected to the Senate for a further three year term.

The only apparent reason for her retiring early is because she is being pressured to vacate the seat for failed ACT Liberal Gary Humphries, who is anxious to desert the sinking ship that is the local Liberal Party.

Earlier this year, Senator Reid was unceremoniously dumped as President of the Senate. Now it appears that she is being pushed out to fulfil the naked ambitions of past and present ACT Assembly Liberals.

Media contact: Simon Tatz on 6277 3334 or 0418 488 295

15 November 2002 - Media Release

Venture Capital legislation finally emerges from Coalition black hole

Labor welcomes, at last, the tabling of the Government’s venture capital legislation in the House of Representatives yesterday, but notes that the Government has procrastinated for the past six months on the introduction of these bills, the Shadow Minister for Information Technology, Senator Kate Lundy said today.

“The Government first promised this legislation during last year’s election campaign, and in a Senate Estimates hearing in February we were told we would see it by June,” Senator Lundy said

“Then again, it wasn’t until late-September - almost two months ago - when Senator Coonan said that the primary legislation would be introduced ‘as soon as possible’.

“It’s as if the legislation fell into some kind of black hole,” Senator Lundy said.

“This is very important legislation - the Australian Venture Capital Association has worked hard to enable Australia to compete internationally to attract venture capitalists to invest in innovative local companies, such as those in the information and communications technology and biotechnology industries.

“Unfortunately the Coalition has left it so late that this legislation probably won’t be passed into law this year - just last night the Coalition revealed that there are still some 40 bills to be dealt with in the Senate,” Senator Lundy concluded.

Media contact: Simon Tatz - (02) 6277 3334 or Electorate Office - 0418 488 295

14 November 2002 - Media Release

Senator Alston, it’s called ‘archives’, you Luddite

Senator Alston may be the Minister for Information Technology, but he doesn’t even understand how web sites work.

In a lame attempt to score a cheap political point, Senator Alston tried to attack me in the Senate today on the grounds that my web site contains all my speeches and media releases dating back to 1997.

Senator Alston’s attack demonstrates his complete lack of understanding of a key component of his portfolio - the internet, because his own website contains every media release he has issued since January 1997, and all of his speeches since September 1997!

Minister, this is called archiving. It occurs when you store files that serve as a record of things you’ve said and done.

Minister, we know you’re a Luddite who doesn’t understand modern technology like the internet and web sites, but next time you try to score a cheap political point, perhaps you should get someone to first explain to you how a web site is managed.

For the record, I was the first federal politician to create their own web site and I continue to personally manage and mark-up my web site.

Media Contact: Simon Tatz on 6277 3334 or 0418 488 295

7 November 2002 - Media Release

E-Government: Open source the key to security and innovation

Open source software can provide greater security and innovation in the delivery of e-Government services, and should be investigated immediately by Government agencies and departments, the Shadow Minister for Information Technology, Senator Kate Lundy said today

Speaking at the “e-Government Australia Summit” Senator Lundy argued that information and communications technology (ICT) systems built with open source software – or software that is freely available for inspection and modification by users – might better serve the needs of Government customers online in a fast changing technological environment.

“Departments and agencies should be immediately required to consider and assess the merits of open source software as part of their strategic approach to sourcing their information and communication technology expertise,” Senator Lundy said.

“Labor has always challenged the wisdom of long term contracts capturing government departments and agencies in shrink-wrapped proprietary software solutions at a time when technology is changing so rapidly.  Open source also has strengths in crucial areas such as security.

“Open source software is backed by a system of peer review – if security flaws are found, anyone can scan the source code and repair those flaws.

“I would take this occasion to warn the Government against looking at open source software as just another opportunity for cost-cutting in Government information technology systems,” Senator Lundy said

“Instead, I see open source software as offering huge potential in rethinking the management of public information and the delivery of e-Government services by using smart and secure technology that will serve now and into the future.

“This is the chance to make a significant investment in updating legacy technology systems that will prevent the effective delivery of e-government services, including access to data that is held in systems that are up to 30 years old.

“As far as e-Government is concerned, what is required is a vision for Australia that understands that software and the internet are central to delivering citizen focussed e-government services,” Senator Lundy concluded.

SPEECH: E-Government:  Serving the 21st Century Citizen

Media contact: Simon Tatz  (02) 6277 3334 or Electorate Office  0418 488 295.

5 November 2002 - Media Release

Fahey finally tells the truth: tendering process for Health’s IT Outsourcing Program was without integrity

John Fahey has finally come clean and admitted that, as Minister for Finance, he believed that the Coalition’s $350 million IT Outsourcing deal with IBM-GSA for the Health Group could have been corrupted and should never have proceeded.

In December 1999, IBM-GSA was one of three tenderers for the IT outsourcing contract for the Departments of Health, Aged Care and the Health Insurance Commission (the Health Group), along with CSC and EDS. During the tender process, IBM-GSA was supplied with computer disks containing critical information relating to final pricing of their rival tenderers. IBM-GSA subsequently revised its tender after the due deadline and it was no surprise when John Fahey announced they were the successful bidder.

At the time, the Office of Asset Sales and Information Technology Outsourcing (OASITO) described giving IBM-GSA details of their rival’s bids as an ‘inadvertent error’. Fahey dismissed Labor’s call for an immediate halt to the tender process.

Now almost three years later, and no longer accountable to the parliament or taxpayers, John Fahey has admitted that the $350 million tender should have been cancelled. Mr Fahey told the Audit Office in September 2002:

“When the disc containing all three bids was delivered to IBM GSA in error my reaction on being informed directly by OASITO was to cancel the tender. I could not see that a tender process with integrity could continue. At the conclusion of the tender I was both disappointed and annoyed at the limited role of the Probity Auditor and the absence of a separate report on the issue.”

Not only did the tender continue, with IBM-GSA being awarded the Health Group contract, but Mr Fahey’s claim that the Probity Auditor’s role was limited has been contradicted by evidence provided by OASITO to a Senate Estimates hearing on 8 February 2000.

OASITO representatives told Senate Estimates that the management of the tender:

“…was conducted in accordance with the advice from both the probity auditor and our legal advisers engaged for the initiative. All parties concurred at the time that the process could continue unchanged…[OASITO] briefed the probity auditor in person [who] immediately came back to us with a proposed course of action…We engaged the probity auditor to participate in all of our discussions to make sure that he fully witnessed the nature of the discussions…and he was happy that we had delivered the messages in accordance with his proposed course of action.”

This has been a disgraceful cover-up of mismanagement and impropriety. It’s pathetic that Fahey has waited three years to reveal that he allowed a potentially corrupted and flawed tender process to continue.

Media contact: Simon Tatz on 02-6277 3334 or 0418 488 295

1 November 2002 - Media Release

Telstra forced to come clean about pair gains

Telstra has finally agreed to come clean with phone users about the slow Internet speeds they could face if they have a second phone line installed.

The move follows a complaint from Senator Kate Lundy to the ACCC, about Telstra’s deceitful use of “pair gain technology” which splits an existing phone line to provide two services, instead of installing the separate line consumers believe they are paying for.

“The ACCC found that Telstra’s pair gains systems ‘can have unfavourable effects on Internet dial-up speeds and limit the ability to get ADSL’,” the Shadow Minister for Information Technology, Senator Kate Lundy said today.

Following the ACCC’s investigation Telstra will now provide information to consumers about the minimum telephone service it is obliged to provide phone users and the possible impact pair gains can have on Internet and other data speeds when customers apply for a second phone line.

“This is an improvement for those Australians who have, until now, been frustrated by Telstra over its use of pair gain systems,” Senator Lundy said

“The ACCC’s conclusions support what many Australians had been telling me - that Telstra has been mean and tricky in the way it used pair gains technology to charge phone users twice for the same phone line, while at the same time halving their Internet speeds.

“Telstra’s use of pair gains is a cost cutting measure aimed at improving its bottom line and fattening itself up for sale - not providing quality customer services.

“I want to thank the thousands of frustrated Telstra customers who supported my campaign - it has really made a difference,” Senator Lundy concluded.