September 2005 Newsletter

The Australian people... deserve a liberated Telstra, free of government ownership. They deserve a government free of the conflicts of owning Telstra, free to regulate the whole telecommunications industry with no conflicts of interest. And, perhaps most importantly of all, they deserve a nation where the resources are made available—resources in great abundance—to ensure that the science of the internet is able to strike another great blow against the tyranny of distance.

For the rest of my speech which includes a frank discussion of the conduct of Telstra management and the efforts to fast track better services in the bush, click here.

I also gave speeches supporting Bills giving new rights to Film Directors’ and regarding tort law reform. I also spoke on Margaret May MP's private member's motion regarding world poverty , in an adjournment debate advocating permanent and unique electronic pigeon holes and on the shared parenting amendments to the Family Law Act . All the speeches can be found on my website here .

The environmental sustainability of our cities is a vital issue, too often neglected. The release of the Sustainable Cities report by the House of Representatives Environment Committee this week will hopefully kick off a new, and sustained, debate on the future of our cities. More below .

The tax debate has continued apace since I officially released our paper on tax reform at the Wentworth forum on Tax Reform on 1 September. It can be downloaded from my website here . I have given a number of interviews about tax reform and several of the transcripts are on my website here. As the debate progresses it is important to remember that tax reform is not just about tax cuts, let alone tax cuts for the top rate alone. Tax reform, as I have said in the tax reform paper and elsewhere, is about simplifying our tax system so that with a broader base and lower rates we have a tax system that is fairer, more efficient and much less complex. Tax reform has to be seen to benefit all Australians. Our paper demonstrates that fundamental reform is financially affordable; the question now is whether it is politically achievable. An oped I wrote for The Australian on tax reform on 2 September is here .

Other items in this newsletter include:

Turnbull Dogs to Launch Website
Release of Sustainable Cities Report
Wentworth Schools Visit Parliament

Turnbull Dogs to Launch Website at Woollahra People and Pets Day

On Sunday 17 September we will be attending Woollahra Council's People and Pets Day at Lyne Park in Rose Bay. My attendance however, will be very secondary to the presence of our three dogs Jojo, Mellie and Rusty, who have launched their own website.

The dogs’ website provides tips on caring for pets, a local dog guide to Wentworth and its pet friendly areas and the dogs’ own blogs. Many people are sceptical that the dogs write the blogs themselves. Of course a lot of great performers don’t write their own material. And, as the caption of that great New Yorker cartoon of two dogs at a computer keyboard said "On the Internet, nobody knows you are a dog.” Or not. We do understand, however, that Daisy Turnbull and her friend Melissa have been offering editorial assistance to their furry friends.

As well as being a lot of fun, the dogs' website will be a welcome relief from tax reform, Telstra and especially from Mark Latham’s diaries.

And without wanting to sound competitive (there's no contest, everyone knows dogs are more amusing than politicians) don't forget there are still human blogs on the website here .

Release of Sustainable Cities Report

The Sustainable Cities report was released this week by the bi-partisan House of Representatives Environment Committee of which I am a member. The message from the report is that the future of Australian cities and regional centres lies in concerted national action.

Australia is one of the most urbanised countries in the world and our cities face enormous challenges, with water shortages, transport congestion and high energy demands.

The report has 32 recommendations. While most of the areas covered are traditionally the preserve of the States and Territories, the committee believes it is time for the Australian Government to take a leadership role.

Some of the major recommendations in the report are that the National Water Commission report on water options for all cities and regional centres and the Federal Government significantly boost funding for public transport, particularly rail, and active transport in the form of dedicated bikeways in our cities.

In its most important recommendation, the bi-partisan committee recommends the establishment of an Australian Sustainability Commission and an Australian Sustainability Charter to promote sustainable policies by all levels of Government. The Sydney Morning Herald coverage of the report is here.

A full copy of the committee's report is here:

http://www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/environ/cities/report.htm

I strongly recommend you download it. We will be holding a public forum on sustainability in the next few months.

Wentworth Schools Visit Parliament

So far in September, students and teachers from Bondi Beach Public School, Kincoppal, Rose Bay Public School and Woollahra Public School have visited me at Parliament House in Canberra. I also met with some boys from Lewisham Christian Brothers who contacted me by email from my website and asked if we could meet. So we did. During the school visits, the students, usually Years 5 and 6. attend Question Time and have private tours of the Parliament.

While the students are too young to vote they are not too young to take an active interest in politics. I am continually impressed by their eagerness to learn more about politics. Parliament is as much about education as it is about legislation. The guides have a great programme for the kids complete with a mock parliament!

The Federal Government is providing grants to enable schools to install flagpoles and, on behalf of the Government, I donate many flags to schools and local clubs and community organisations. Since our last newsletter I have "launched" new flagpoles at Bondi Public School and at Galilee Catholic Primary School also in Bondi. See some photos here

Yours sincerely,
 

Malcolm Turnbull MP
Member for Wentworth