12. Hon MAURICE WILLIAMSON (National—Pakuranga) Link to this
to the Minister of Communications
Does he agree with the Prime Minister’s statement that “My dream would be to see two trans-Tasman telecommunications markets offering one domestic rate of calling.”; if so, what is he doing to bring this dream to reality?
Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE (Minister of Communications) Link to this
I frequently agree with the Prime Minister.
Hon Maurice Williamson Link to this
Did the Prime Minister share that dream with him before announcing it in Australia; if so, was he in it?
Dave HereoraWhat steps has the Government taken to improve the delivery of communication services to the public?
Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE Link to this
Only a year after the telecommunications stocktake was released, we have completely revised the Telecommunications Act. We have the Telecommunications Commissioner working hard to deliver on local loop unbundling, unbundled bitstream, and naked DSL on time and in full. The Telecommunications Carriers Forum has pulled together industry working-groups to implement local loop unbundling. We have a draft form of operational separation for Telecom New Zealand on the table. We have anti-spam legislation in place; and we have delivered on number portability with the Telecommunications Commissioner’s help.
Hon Maurice Williamson Link to this
Can the Minster inform the House as to whether a dream is higher in status than an aspiration, lower than a vision, equivalent to a wish, but lacks the strength of commitment of a whim?
Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE Link to this
I understand that, in the member’s case, a dream is what he does when he is asleep, of which there has been ample evidence over the last decade.
Hon Maurice Williamson Link to this
On a scale of one to 10, can the Minster tell us what chance he believes he has of implementing the Prime Minster’s Martin Luther King - type “I have a dream” aspirations, when the member for Waimakariri has been trying for some time, through a petition, to even get local calling across a paddock between Kaiapoi and Rangiora?
Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE Link to this
Some people see things the way they are and say why, and occasionally Prime Ministers dream of things that are not yet, and ask why not.
Hon Maurice Williamson Link to this
Which of the Prime Minister’s wishes does the Minister believe will come true first: the dream to see local calling between Dunedin and Dubbo, and Wellington and Wagga Wagga; the vision to see us in the top half of the OECD; the aspiration to see us carbon neutral; or the simple old wish to have 20 hours of free early childhood education?
Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE Link to this
That one is an easy one. First place goes to the determination for us to be a four-consecutive-term Government.