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Policy Area: Telecommunications
Amend Commerce Act to provide for penalties when actions are brought by Parties other than the Commerce Commission. Our preference is for the Commerce Commission and the Ministry of Commerce to address competition issues. However, if this does not produce effective competition, the Government must be prepared to ensure it does, firstly by producing Government policy guidelines on interconnect, transparency and number portability and if necessary by amending the Telecommunications Act.
The Parties want to ensure that all New Zealanders have access to information tools, such as the Internet, at an affordable price.
The Parties will investigate ways in which the Government can promote social cohesion by ensuring access to Information Technology for those in the community who would otherwise miss out on the opportunities by the Information Technology revolution.
The provision of such facilities as hardware and software, with an Internet connection could, for instance be installed in public libraries throughout New Zealand.
A partnership between the Government and the private sector could be explored to achieve these mutually beneficial goals.
The Government will develop and implement an "Information and Technology in Learning" strategy that will ensure that all New Zealand children are equipped for the information age by an education system which is fully attuned to New Zealand in the 21st century.
We will keep the situation under review. The Government could legislate to ensure that the Commerce Commission will not treat various media as separate when considering whether a proposed deal will damage competition in any given market.
Nil
(All funding proposals subject to being considered within the agreed spending policy parameters.)
Indeterminate, but could be significant.