Bill targets telco companies
PROPOSED LEGISLATION WOULD HOLD TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMPANIES TO ACCOUNT FOR POOR SERVICE
Seventeen government MPs have come together to support proposed legislation which would hold telecommunications companies to account for poor service in regional Australia.
The bill would propose an obligation to companies to provide service to every Australian, regardless of where they leave, a revamped customer service guarantee and force them to publish details about numbers of complaints.
The bill also proposes to make telecommunication companies and their executives liable for preventative deaths because of inaction — for example when callers can’t connect to 000 — and make executives liable for poor customer service.
Federal Member for Nicholls Damian Drum is one of the MPs who has backed the bill.
He said residents in his electorate were regularly hit hard by issues with mobile service.
‘‘Stories about poor coverage and a lack of urgency in addressing issues by telco companies are far too frequent and, put simply, there just isn’t enough accountability,’’ Mr Drum said.
‘‘I’ve always been a big believer that regional and rural residents should not be disadvantaged because they choose not to live in a city, but unfortunately mobile service is a clear example of where they are often treated as a secondclass citizen.
‘‘Not a week goes by where my office isn’t contacted by a Nicholls resident needing help in getting their telecommunications problems addressed and resolved.’’
Federal Member for Berowra Julian Leeser, who put forward the bill, said he prepared an exposure draft of the bill following years of inaction by telcos to fix fundamental issues in his NSW electorate.
‘‘Telecommunications is an essential service people rely on but for many people, the telco service is worse today than it was 20 years ago,’’ he said.
‘‘We’ve got kids studying who can’t connect with teachers because their internet doesn’t work, teachers are presenting online classes from the McDonalds car park because they can’t get reception at home.
‘‘We’ve got people in lifethreatening situations who can’t dial 000 because they have no mobile reception. It’s not good enough.’’