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Low-income users will be protected under Telstra revamp: Alston
22 Apr 2002
The Federal Communications Minister, Richard Alston, says that people on low incomes will be protected if there's any change to Telstra's pricing structure. Telstra is proposing to raise its $19.95 monthly line rental rate and gradually lower call charges. There will be a range of packages on offer to suit low-income and infrequent phone users which welfare organisations have been going through "with a fine-toothed comb", the Minister said. There should be no reason for prices to rise by more than the CPI, and if welfare groups are satisfied that low-income earners aren't going to be disadvantaged then that's a "very good outcome".
Senator Alston said that the new charges, which are about to be considered by Cabinet, should be in place by June 30th. The proposal is a rebalancing exercise that will benefit both consumers and Telstra, he said, and an opportunity to ensure that improvements in productivity and technology are passed on to consumers, not simply to shareholders and wage-earners.
The Age, 22/04/2002, page 6.
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