TIO council election 'absolute farce', claims nominee - News - Communications

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This story was printed from ZDNet Australia.
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TIO council election 'absolute farce', claims nominee

By Patrick Gray, 0
July 08, 2003
URL: http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/communications/soa/TIO-council-election-absolute-farce-claims-nominee/0,130061791,120276061,00.htm

The election of industry representatives to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) council has been branded an "absolute farce" after some ballot papers were received by members after they were due to be returned.

TIO member Instant Communications didn't receive its ballot papers until yesterday, according to its operations manager Ben Curran. They were due back in the post on Friday.

"We have a post office box to avoid mail problems and we picked it up on Monday and it wasn't there on Friday," he told ZDNet Australia . "Apparently there's more people who've been experiencing the same thing".

Despite the fact that Instant Communications will not be able to register a vote, Curran isn't screaming blue murder.

"If only a few people were missed over then I don't see it as any real harm," he said. "Yes, it would have been nice to have a say. On the same hand one person's vote isn't going to change the course of history. If this was a small problem lessons can be learned from it".

The TIO has rejected calls to extend the deadline to get votes back in.

"The election was carried out in accordance with the council election policy and no extensions of time can be granted," a spokeswoman for the TIO told ZDNet Australia .

Among those leading the calls is Darren Worley of Ideal Internet Services, a TIO council nominee up for election. He says the election process was completely unfair.

"That process that they used should be thrown out the window, re-vamped to be fair and ethical," he said.

"I believe that their process is incorrect and invalid," he added. "Every member should have the right to vote".

The fact that the TIO won't allow the election to be extended shows it has 'contempt' for its members, Worley said.

Also upset by the election is the owner-operator of carrier Oziplex, Tim McCullagh, who says problems with the TIO council elections are symptomatic of the government's failure to appropriately regulate the industry.

Describing the current regulation regime as an "abomination", McCullagh says the politics surrounding the communications industry has lead to "the greatest theft of Australian community assets that's ever happened in this country".

Double standards may also be at play, he said. Election processes for other member organisations, such as unions, are much more closely monitored to ensure transparency and "regularity".

"If this was the union movement you'd have [Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations] Tony Abbott jumping down their throat so quickly," he said.