One very important aspect of this has been the sharing of experience. We gained much from studying the experience of those countries which began their reform agendas before Australia. We hope that our own experience provides a useful guide for other nations in a world in which both new technologies and the demands imposed by the globalisation of communications impose much greater necessity for reform than confronted Australia in the late 1980s and early 1990s. We recognise that each country has its own circumstances and objectives, but since 1 January 1998 there has been a need to ensure that these are strongly aligned with the widely accepted principles of the World Trade Organisation's Agreement on Basic Telecommunications. As I have only a limited amount of time, I intend to start with my conclusions, letting you know the five principles which I want to stress today.
Liberalisation requires new forms of regulation.
A key issue is dealing with the power of incumbents. Consumer and community goals can be achieved through external regulation. Australia has received and anticipates further significant benefits from telecommunications reform. Reform is closely linked to change. To put things simply, change breeds reform, and reform is then a factor in bringing about further change.