Battle Lines being drawn over the $2 billion Communications Fund
Battle Lines being drawn over the $2 billion Communications Fund
February 15, 2008: The office of Shadow Communications Minister, Bruce Billson has released a statement attacking the Labor government’s plan to use the $2 billion Communications Fund to pay for its broadband bills.
The subject of the Communications Fund has been burning brightly since the argument emerged in the lead up to last year’s federal election. The fund was initially set up to ‘future-proof’ telecommunication services in rural, regional and remote Australia. Having been setup in 2005 and having a projected interest of around 5.5%, the use of the money has been a sore point for both major parties.
The Howard Government enacted legislation in September 2007 to ensure the Communications Fund does not fall below its $2 billion principle amount, in effect preventing anything other then the interest being spent. Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner has tabled new legislation this week for debate in the lower house that would enable this principle amount to be spent at the discretion of the current Government.
Shadow Communications Minister, Bruce Billson’s office has hit back with a statement release today claiming that “now the Rudd Labor Government wants to raid not only the interest earned from the fund, but the fund itself - taking away the very support those currently most disadvantaged rely upon to ensure that they can be full participants in an information society.”
The statement goes on to point out that Labor’s proposed amendment to the Telecommunications Legislation is set for “rigorous debate in the parliament next week”.