Backed by the Australian Telecommunications Users Group (ATUG) and the Service Providers Industry Association (SPAN), the 7th annual forum on rural and remote communications will see representatives of the telecommunications industry gather in Sydney in late November.
Alana Fisher, project manager for the Institute for International Research (IIR), the group in charge of the project, confirmed that Senator Alston had been invited to speak at the conference, but was otherwise engaged.
"He sent his apologies but he will be out of the country at the time, and time zones wouldn't permit a video link up," Fisher said. "We then chose Paul [Neville], because he has played a key role in the backbench committee on communications since 1998, and he comes from a rural area so he understands the issues surrounding communications in regional and rural areas."
The forum aims to review government and opposition policy initiatives, reforms in regulation and compliance, and cover recent changes in technology and infrastructure. According to Fisher, the conference will focus on the twin issues of universal service provision and the privatisation of Telstra.
"People get very emotional about some of the topics," Fisher said.
Addressing the conference as one of the keynote speakers, Shadow Minister for Telecommunications, Lindsay Tanner, will be discussing the implications of Telstra's full privatisation on communications in rural areas.
"Labor is vitally concerned about ensuring affordable quality communications services in the regions and believes the only way this can be achieved is if Telstra remains in majority public ownership," a spokesperson for Mr Tanner told ZDNet Australia.
If anything ever said here is an example of a guy staying clear of the people which his policies affects , this is it.
Alston is sending someone else because he probably can't be bothered facing the rightfully angry people of the bush who may justly chew him out 'or' his level of interest in actually listening to the concerns of those in the bush and making policy based on their needs and concerns rates up there with that of Telstra's.