Over the last month or so I’ve been able to catch up with a number of Members at our 30th anniversary events. If you can get to one over the next couple of months, please join us! I promise, however, that I will be asking about a range of issues as the information we get from our Members is the most potent fuel for our submissions to government.

We have also been having fun tearing away the debris (literally) from QV1 as we decommission our original facility, upgrading the portal (and every switch the team can get their hands on), upgrading the website and more! Of course, we keenly listen to your feedback on that too. I hope you enjoy the articles below that cover more of the team’s amazing achievements.

As I write, the dust is barely settled on the federal election. With such an endorsement from the electorate, it is possible the Labor government will take the opportunity to open new policy avenues or push existing ones further. It leads me to wonder: should we re-think our expectations for the new government? What do we, as an association, want from the incoming government?

In the previous term of government, Labor sought to increase the level of regulation and update the approaches in security, consumer protection and privacy, with corresponding increases in penalties and paperwork. We worked actively to mitigate the heavy hand of regulation in our submissions and regulatory templates you can find on the Member Portal.

In the recent Cabinet reshuffle the previous Minister for Communications, Michelle Rowland, was promoted to Attorney-General and will be replaced by Anika Wells, who also retains her role as Minister for Sport. Minister Wells is new to the communications sector, with her appointment aligning with the government’s decision to move sport under the Infrastructure Department. It remains to be seen how the new Minister will approach this complex portfolio, and whether her dual responsibilities will allow for the depth of engagement the sector demands.

We continue to work hard to challenge lingering negative perceptions of our industry – dare I say prejudices – as we are often characterised as predatory and lax with privacy and security, therefore needing more regulation.

On the Opposition side, it is possible that the current inexperienced Communications spokesperson will stay, but probably more likely that a National Party person will take the portfolio given their higher proportion in the parliament. Again, their impressions won’t necessarily play positively towards our sector either, given the Nationals tend to see the whole industry as a problem with Telstra.

Happy peering!
Narelle
IAA CEO