Members, the Ayes are 62, the Noes are 54. The motion is agreed to.
Maritime
are 54. The motion is agreed to.
second reading. This bill is set down for committee
stage next sitting day.
sitting day. I call on Government order of the
day number 3... Telecommunications
(New Regulatory Framework)
Amendment Bill
(New Regulatory Framework) Amendment
Macindoe. Mr Speaker, I move that the Telecommunications (New
Regulatory Framework) Amendment Bill
be now read a first time. I
nominate the commerce
the commerce select committee to consider the bill. This bill amends
the Telecommunications Act 2001 to
modernise the Act and establish a
stable and predictable framework for
fibre access services
in New Zealand. It removes unnecessary
regulation and streamlines regulatory processes to enable
a rapid response to any competition
mobile communications market. It also provides more regulatory
oversight of retail service quality
and wider consumer protections.
oversight of retail service quality and wider consumer protections. The
telecommunications market
telecommunications market is changing, with new technologies,
shifting consumer behaviour, and
evolving business models. Alongside
this, consumers have vastly
improved connectivity through the
Government's two billion dollar
infrastructure. The Telecommunications
Telecommunications (New Regulatory Framework) Amendment Bill
will ensure that
ensure that regulatory settings continue to be fit for purpose
and support the evolution of
this
increasingly important for every aspect of New Zealanders' social,
economic and working lives. Access
to faster communication services
and infrastructure is a great
enabler of economic growth, and contributes to
increasing the depth and vibrancy of
New Zealand's digital economy. To
enable this continued growth
and wider demand for connectivity,
our regulatory arrangements need to
be modernised. The bill will implement
a number of
new regulatory arrangements and key changes.
Firstly, the new utility
regulation framework, the new regime will
ensure that UFB
providers cannot make excess profits at the
expense of consumers while being
able to expect reasonable rates of return
and
and incentives for ongoing investment. Under this
new
Chorus will be subject to a revenue cap, and the company will
be required to provide certain
anchor services to its wholesale
customers. services to its wholesale customers.
The revenue cap gives Chorus
flexibility in how it
sets prices for most of its products, but
it also ensures that Chorus does
not earn excessive returns on its fibre
assets. One safeguard built mo the
system is that Chorus will be
provide price
provide price regulated products. These will initially be
an entry level broadband product, 100 Meg b,
ytes per second upload and
download and
ytes per second upload and download
products should ensure there is prison stability for consumers and
retail services for providers and
anchor the prices
that Chorus offers. Chorus and fibre company
also be required to disclose
information publicly
information publicly to enable scrutiny of
scrutiny of their performance and profitability. Local fibre companies
will face competition from copper
and cable networks and are not
incident to revenue caps, but
can be regulated if problems arise.
Consistent with Part 4 of
the Commerce Act the bill provides
for the Commerce Commission for
methodologies and regulatory
arrangements to institute the new
framework. A clear value will be set
for regulated assets at outset with
a predictable process
for updating this over time. There will also be
a clear process for
approval in advance of new investments,
similar to that which applies to the
electricity grid
electricity grid operator Transpower. Secondly, the
the areas where fibre services are available, the copper network
operated by Chorus will
be
protection from consumers. To telly communications service obligation,
which provides for
be removed. Consumers will have a wide range of
choices in these areas, including the
option of moving to fibre networks with better
services and similar prices. The
withdrawal of the copper network
by Chorus in given areas will
be regulated by a copper withdrawal
code, which sets out minimum
conditions which must be met
before a copper line can be withdrawn. In
areas where UFB or other niner is
not available, to telly
communication service will
be retained and Chorus will
be required to continue supplying copper
services at prices capped
at 2019 levels with
levels with inflation adjustments areas
levels with inflation adjustments over time. This will ensure
consumers continue to have access to
basic telecommunication services
at competitive prices, even when
alternative networks are not available. Thirdly, the stream
Lynning of the process for
regulation of services. The
bill will encourage further competition
and telecommunication services
through streamlining the process
for commission investigations into
regulating telecommunication services in Schedule 3 of
the Act. These changes allow for
more timely intervention by the commission when
issues are identified and further
encourage commercial settlements
as an alternative to regulation.
Fourthly,
Fourthly, greater Consumer Protections. The bill improves the
Act by enhancing Consumer
Protection. It is becoming
increasingly clear that outcomes
for telecommunications consumers are
not satisfactory. For example,
the results of the New
Zealand national consumer survey 2016
showed that nearly a third of all
consumers reported having a problem with
either their fixed
broadband or mobile services and
either their fixed broadband or
with both. To lift consumer service quality across the sector
and improve responsiveness to consumer
needs, the bill augments
consumer safeguards and provides for
more regulatory oversight of retail
quality standards and dispute
safeguards
quality standards and dispute resolution processes. These
arrangements require the
Commerce Commission to collect information
and report on the quality of
retail service delivery in a way that is
accessible to consumers.
Regulatory codes to be established to
improve retail service quality if industry
the periodic review of the
scheme by the commission. Fifthly, final minor changes enabled by
the bill, the bill repeals some are
necessary and expired provisions. So
Mr Speaker, to sum up
the new regulatory framework enabled by
this bill will modernise to tell
communications act so that it is fit
for purpose for New Zealand's
new
environment. It will put in place a balance of incentives so
that ongoing investment by network
providers will continue to be
encouraged while consumers will
be protected. It will create a more
predictable telecommunications
predictable telecommunications environment, target regulation more
effectively and support consumers.
Mr Speaker, I commend 24 bill to
the House. The question is
that the motion be
House. The question is that the
Speaker. Well, anyone who is still awake after that speech, it is time
to hear a little bit of positivity.
Mr Speaker, what we have heard here
is the difference between MPs on
this side and the MPs on that side.
What you got here is
relentless positivity and what you got