Adams Amy: Telecommunications (Development Levy) Amendment Bill — First Reading Second Reading In Committee Third ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeAdams Amy: Telecommunications (Development Levy) Amendment Bill — First Reading Second Reading In Committee Third Reading[Sitting date: 21 May 2015. Volume:705;Page:3737. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Hon AMY ADAMS (Minister for Communications): Given that the debate on clause 1 is quite a wide-ranging debate it is probably a useful chance to take my call on this matter. I was not otherwise intending to speak on the title but I do want to make a few comments. The first is that we have heard repeatedly from Labour in this debate—as if saying it often enough makes it true—that this is somehow a new tax. It has been in place in its current form and at its current level since 2011 and it was in place at a higher level under the telecommunications service obligation before that. Neither is it something that we have decided to do post-election without telling anyone. It was announced in August as part of our election manifesto which said that if elected this is what the National Government would do. So there is no question that this is in anyway inconsistent nor can anybody through any sort of twisting of the facts to suit the argument suggest that this is new. It is not new.The costs are in place. The costs of this are already in place. There is zero increase to the costs to the telecommunications companies. I have said that there is zero justification for any increase in their bills. I have never said that they will not be opportunistic and craven and try to justify some profit grab through it. I have said that there is no increase in costs to the telecommunications companies and therefore zero justification for them to increase their fees. If Spark wants to announce that it is going to put its prices up that is something it will have to explain to its consumers but let me tell you as others have said in this Committee it cannot sensibly justify raising prices because of this legislation. These levy extensions that we are talking about tonight do not take effect until 2016. So if they do put the cost up let us remember two things: when and by how muchwill they go up? At the very most we are talking about cents per bill per month. So if they put costs up from 1 July 2016 by more than 19 cents for a prepaid plan and maybe up to 80 cents for a consumer then they are not being honest with New Zealanders. Even then it is already in your bill so they would be double-charging you.Can I make the point that it is very easy to stand in this House and say how much you support rural broadband but not be prepared to do anything to make it happen. Here is the reality: we are building infrastructure in rural communities that telecommunications companies will use to sell their products. The telecommunications companies that are paying this charge use this for their business services. So who should pay for it—taxpaying mums and dads or the telecommunications companies? My view is that the telecommunications companies should pay. When Labour says to take it out of general taxation it is saying that we should pay for the infrastructure that Spark Vodafone Chorus MyRepublic CallPlus Services and all of the others use to carry on their business. That does not make sense. That would be irrational and unreasonable. It should fall on the industry. Those in the industry should not be allowed to sell the service just where they can make a lot of money. Instead we levy them to say that actually we have an expectation that they will provide services everywhere. That money then provides the communal infrastructure that those same companies provide their services over.The question that has come up also is: “Why is it urgent?”. This is a fair question. I accept that because yes the extension takes effect from July 2016. I will tell you why it is urgent. It is because anyone who understands how these processes work will know that I cannot go out and start negotiating for contracts for this to work until the money is legislated for. So the first step is that there has to be a legislative mandate to say that the money is available; then I can start the process. The longer that is pushed out the longer it will be until people get better broadband. To every member in this House who has talked meaningfully about “Oh we have got to get better broadband it is taking too long.” I say that that is where the urgency is. The urgency is that New Zealanders want this and they want this as soon as possible. This bill has been made the simplest bill possible. It does not talk about the levy’s operation how it is allocated how it is spent or how the Commerce Commission divides it. It simply provides the basis for the money so that we can get out and start getting these processes in place.Let me close by just saying this: broadband is critical to everyone in New Zealand—everyone. Somebody has to pay and I am absolutely comfortable that the right place for that payment to fall is a levy on the telecommunications companies that will use it and that will benefit. There is zero justification for anyone to increase prices as a result and if they do that is a conversation that they should be having with their consumers. If I was their consumer I would be looking to shop around.