Conroy praises Telstra diplomacy

Minister for Communications Stephen Conroy yesterday said a meeting with Telstra chief David Thodey had given him hope that the telco was open to a "meaningful dialogue" as the government wades through its industry regulatory reform submissions.

"I have had one very quick catch-up with David. It was a very positive meeting. He's been very constructive in his approach to government. Certainly the sense we're getting from the new board and the new CEO is that they want to engage with the government," he said yesterday after delivering a speech at the Australian Industry Group annual conference.

Conroy would not comment on the details of submissions in response to its telecommunications sector regulatory reform discussion paper, which canvassed a number of options in relation to Telstra.

Optus CEO Paul O'Sullivan last week pushed the telco's long-held view that structural separation of Telstra's wholesale and retail divisions was the preferred way forward for the government's National Broadband Network plans. Conroy yesterday reiterated comments he made to Shadow Communications Minister Nick Minchin when pressed at a recent Senate Estimates hearing to "rule out" that Telstra's structural separation was on the agenda.

"Optus has long argued for structural separation. It's not included in our discussion paper, but we welcome all input," Conroy said yesterday.

While structural separation was technically off the agenda, he welcomed Telstra's "positive engagement with the government". "That's not to say we agree with each other at this stage, but we think there is sufficient encouragement from what they're saying to have a meaningful dialogue," he said.

Conroy did clarify the government's hope in quickly establishing a separated wholesale network that would in effect deliver a structurally separated Telstra: "If Telstra and the other companies want to vend their assets in, it will effectively become a structurally separated network relatively quickly, depending on the outcome of discussions. It won't take the full eight-year bill."

He added that Telstra's stake in the NBNCo would be limited to somewhere between 15 to 20 per cent, not 49 per cent as suggested in recent media reports. "But that could be from a number of companies," he said. "We're very much committed to ensuring that anyone who was to come in couldn't dominate."