Hipkins Chris: Telecommunications (TSO Broadband and Other Matters) Amendment Bill — In Committee Speaker Recalled In Committee 
Hipkins Chris: Telecommunications (TSO Broadband and Other Matters) Amendment Bill — In Committee Speaker Recalled In Committee 
[Volume:673;Page:19478] 
CHRIS HIPKINS (Labour—Rimutaka) 
: 
 I am happy to take a call on the Telecommunications (TSO Broadband and Other Matters) Amendment Bill although I am disappointed that the Minister in the chair the Minister for Communications and Information Technology has not yet taken the opportunity to stand up and allay the concerns being raised by members on this side of the Chamber. 
Hon Members 
: Yes he has. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: No he did not allay them at all. 
CHRIS HIPKINS 
: He did not allay them at all. I am not an expert on telecommunications issues but I do know that the people living in my electorate and those in electorates around the country value having their free local calls. They value the transparency that exists in that arrangement at the moment because it is a legislative provision under the Kiwi share obligation that means that they know that— 
Clare Curran 
: In the Act. 
CHRIS HIPKINS 
: —in the Act—they will be able to ring their next-door neighbours. The little old ladies up the street know that if they pick up the phone to ring their next-door neighbours to make sure they are all right or to arrange to have a cup of tea they will not be charged because under the current law a charge is prohibited; they are guaranteed their free local calls. That was something the Government put in place at the time when Telecom was sold because New Zealanders were concerned that the privatisation of Telecom would result in their paying more. One of the things the Government of the day did— 
Hon Maurice Williamson 
: Who sold Telecom? 
CHRIS HIPKINS 
: —when it wrongly sold Telecom I have to say was to put in place a guarantee that New Zealanders would have their free local calls. Supplementary Order Paper 247 has now been slipped in by the “Dark Prince” of the National Government; it has been slipped on to the Order Paper this afternoon by Steven Joyce and it reflects the fact that the Kiwi share obligation will no longer be operative following the structural separation of Telecom. What does that mean for ordinary New Zealanders who have not followed this debate? It means that legislation will no longer protect their free local calls. They will no longer have the protection they have come to count on. 
I want to hear from Steven Joyce about how he is going to guarantee that New Zealanders continue to have free local calls—or is that out of the window? Are they going to lose their free local calls? It could be a very brief description from the Minister. He does not need to take a huge amount of time. I want him just to stand up and say whether free local calls will continue to exist under the National Government and if they will how he will ensure that. Will it be a contractual obligation? If so what surety will New Zealanders have that the contract will not be renegotiated in the future and they will lose their free local calls? Will it be inserted into the legislation somewhere else? If so where is the Supplementary Order Paper that is going to do that? If the Kiwi share obligation is now dead and buried and this Supplementary Order Paper suggests that it is how will he ensure that New Zealanders who rely on the Kiwi share obligation even though they probably do not understand what it is—they probably do not care either; they just want to know that when they pick up the phone to make their local calls it is free or that when they are in an area that is covered— 
Hon Craig Foss 
: Does the member use Skype? 
CHRIS HIPKINS 
: Skype is fantastic technology and if the Government ever gets around to delivering the broadband it promised New Zealanders at the last election then more people would be able to use it but given the dismal failure rate it has had so far in delivering on its broadband promises I will not hold my breath. I have to say my broadband is provided by Telecom and it is absolutely hopeless; it was much better when it was provided by Telstra. But that is a whole other part of the debate and I look forward to contributing to that later on. 
What I the people in my electorate and those in other electorates around the country do want to hear is an assurance from this Government that their local calls are still going to be free. What about people in those areas who may not have the services they have come to rely upon any more if the Kiwi share obligation is dead and buried as Steven Joyce seems to think it is? Where is the surety for them? I would like to see that Minister stand up in the Chamber and give a clear explanation to those people. This is significant. It is very important for people to know. 
The provision of free local calls is one of the things we really value in New Zealand. People in my electorate really value it and people around the country really value it. There are a huge number of reasons why it should not be taken away. There are reasons to do with social isolation. I am particularly concerned about older citizens who live around the country who rely on free local calls so that they can keep in contact with the rest of the world with their families and with their neighbours. If that is taken away there is a safety element to that. Steven Joyce may well have a great explanation that guarantees that free local calls will continue. It is not clear from this Supplementary Order Paper and it is not clear from what he has said so far. He is shaking his head which makes me think free local calls are dead and buried under the National Government and I think that is absolutely disgraceful.