Question for Oral Answer: Information & Communication Technology - NZ Usage

11. RUSSELL FAIRBROTHER (Labour — Napier) to the Minister for Information Technology: What is the Government doing to ensure New Zealanders are getting the best results from their use of information and communications technology?

Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE (Minister for Information Technology): Yesterday I launched the Government's Digital Strategy, which is a practical and an achievable action plan for ensuring that all New Zealanders benefit from information and communications technology. The coming Budget will provide an additional $60 million to implement that strategy, including a community fund and a broadband challenge — part of $400 million over 5 years for digital initiatives.

Russell Fairbrother: What has been the reaction to the strategy?

Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE: There has been an extremely positive reaction from a wide range of groups. Vodafone has said that it wants to partner with the Government to bridge the digital divide. Local Government New Zealand has welcomed the strategy. TelstraClear has said that the strategy is focused on the right outcomes. The Telecommunications Users Association of New Zealaand has described it as bold, comprehensive, and achievable, and InternetNZ has welcomed it, as well. The New Zealand Herald stated that the Government has dug deep to wire this country.

Stephen Franks: Does the Minister feel just the slightest hint of shame or embarrassment at being a Minister in this Government and lecturing the New Zealand private sector on getting the best results from information technology, when three overseas police chiefs have told us that the New Zealand police have a "world class" information technology system in the 111 service, yet that they have been utterly unable to meet essential effectiveness, timeliness, buy-in, governance, command, control, recruitment, and training requirements, and instead have a "blame culture" of frustration, delay, and low morale?

Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE: No, but if I were that member, I would be embarrassed to support policies like those of the National Party, which led to a decade of nothing when it was in Government.

SUE KEDGLEY: Why, when the Minister stated in his press release yesterday: "The government's goal is to enhance competition between providers …", and to provide an "open competitive framework" for information technology, is this Government still refusing to unbundle the local loop, which would provide for just such an open, competitive framework, and which most OECD countries did years ago?

Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE: The Government's decision to accept the Telecommunications Commissioner's recommendation on the local loop — which was to unbundle parts of the bitstream — was made on the basis of certain commitments from the incumbent telecommunications provider —

Rt Hon Winston Peters: What about Telecom?

Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE: — Telecom New Zealand, a company that that member failed to regulate when he was Deputy Prime Minister. The Government has —

Rt Hon Winston Peters: I raise a point of order, Madam Speaker. I would have thought you would bring the Minister up on his last answer, when he was asked about a certain series of facts in respect of the police and information technology. He then attacked National for doing nothing over 10 years — which is a bit of an exaggeration and is not true. Now he is attacking me for failing to deregulate the telecommunications industry, when he knows full well, if he knows anything, that I was the one who initiated the Treasury investigation and began the deregulation of the industry before I left power.

Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE: Speaking to the point of order —

Madam SPEAKER: No, I think that if the member would just stick to addressing the specific point of the question, we would all be able to move forward.

SUE KEDGLEY: I raise a point of order, Madam Speaker. The Minister was answering my question, and he said that "that member" — I assumed he was referring to me — failed to unbundle the loop. I wonder whether that could be clarified.

Madam SPEAKER: Would the Minister please address the question.

Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE: The phrase "that member" applied to the member who interjected — [Interruption]

Madam SPEAKER: Let us hear the member; otherwise he may have to repeat the answer again.

Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE: I would be glad to do that. The Government has accepted the Telecommunications Commissioner's recommendation on the basis of certain commitments from Telecom New Zealand. It has until the end of the year to deliver on those commitments. The Government is monitoring them very closely, and we have signalled that we will respond in proportion to the degree to which Telecom meets them.