The federal election campaign in full swing, and we’re urging major parties to commit to make improvements to a telco sector that isn’t working as well as it should for too many Australians.
This week, our election focus has been on two critical areas: the urgent need for digital platform reform, and the case for a national free public Wi-program. Digital platforms continue to operate with limited oversight while consumers are left with little choice and no real power to push back. That’s not good enough. We need stronger rules to rein in market dominance, ensure transparency, and restore fairness for users.
We also know that thousands of people across the country are locked out of reliable internet simply because they can’t afford it. That’s why we’re calling for the introduction of a free national public Wi-Fi program. It’s not just about convenience. Communications is an essential service – and one that provides access to additional essential services like education, healthcare and government support. A new government must treat this as a priority. I encourage you to follow along on social media as our pre-election campaign gathers momentum.
In other developments, we’ve made a major submission to the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) about protections for consumers facing Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence (DFSV). This reform is a landmark moment in our sector – but there’s still improvements to be made. We’ve asked the ACMA to strengthen the draft standard to include protections around credit and debt issues and mandatory privacy breach notifications.
This week we continued our work to protect children’s privacy online. Our Research Manager, Sam Kininmonth, represented ACCAN at a roundtable with the Australian Privacy Commissioner Carly Kind to share our views on the Children’s Online Privacy Code. We know that families are increasingly concerned about how kids’ data is being collected and used online, and we’ll continue working to see that any future code will best serve the interests of young people.
ACCAN's Senior Policy Adviser Amelia Radke is in Melbourne towards the end of the week to represent ACCAN and regional, rural and remote consumers at a Telstra Regional Workshop.
Another significant piece of work has been the finalisation and submission of a substantial response to Paper 2 of the NBN regulatory reset process. We look forward to continuing our engagement with NBN Co on this important project.
Meanwhile, as election promises continue rolling out, we’ve seen commitments made by candidates around the country to improve mobile infrastructure in their electorates. Be sure to hold your local candidates to account on their promises – including telco investment commitment!
Finally, in news of significance to many regional Australians, Amazon is today (10 April) launching the first of many Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites. This is an important first step towards competition in the LEOSat market – and ACCAN will be keeping an eye on progress with the rollout.
As always, thank you for your continued support. Our advocacy is only as strong as the people behind it—and together, we’re making the case for communications services that are fair, trusted and affordable.
