013 Slug For All 'a Matter Of Time'
Sydney Morning Herald
Thursday August 26, 1999
The Communications Minister, Senator Alston, has refused to rule out allowing Telstra to charge residential customers for directory assistance charges.
The decision to charge business and mobile phone users for 013 calls came under attack yesterday as many industry leaders predicted that charges for private phones would follow.
The national president of the Communications, Electrical and Plumbing Union, Mr Colin Cooper, said it was "only a matter of time".
"The lines between business and private phones are already blurred and Telstra has previously said they wanted to charge everybody, with a few exceptions for the disabled, which would be impossible to implement," he said.
The chief executive of the Council of Small Business Organisations of Australia, Mr Rob Bastion, said: "If Telstra claims they're `helping' the small businesses by this, what's to stop them from similarly helping a residential consumer once they get privatised?"
It was "the wrong decision and the wrong method, given they're about to announce a $3.5 billion profit," he said.
But a spokesman for Senator Alston said charges on residential phone users were "not an option in the foreseeable future, but in 10 years time, who knows?"
A Telstra spokesman, Mr David Lording, said the telecommunications giant had no plans to charge residential calls.
Ms Jan Hudson, chief executive officer of Bathurst's Business Enterprise Centre, said the decision had hit small businesses, rural and regional services and the self employed hard.
The secretary of the Lachlan Regional Transport Committee, Mr Greg Standen, uses directory assistance every day. "We don't have the books or when we do, the number has changed and we really need 013 to find out where the people live. There is just no alternative," he said.
Bay and Basin mobile mechanic Mr Colin King makes more than 10 directory assistance calls a week, chasing clients, parts and information.
"It's fair enough if you're a receptionist at a desk in a building and you've got a phone book next to you, but for people on the road it really sucks," he said.
"It's pretty hard to find a phone booth and we don't have all the books."
© 1999 Sydney Morning Herald
