[LINK] SMH: 'Conroy delays bill to rein in telemarketers'

[Roger Clarke]

[Conroy's chickened out on extending the Register.  He's withdrawn this:

Do Not Call Register Legislation Amendment Bill 2009
http://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/download/legislation/billsdgs/R9SV6/upload_binary/r9sv60.pdf;fileType=application%2Fpdf#search=%22Do%20Not%20Call%20bills%20and%20legislation%22
The Bill amends the Do Not Call Register Act 2007 (the DNCR Act) with 
the purpose of
expanding the Do Not Call Register to enable all Australian telephone 
and fax numbers to
be registered, including those used by businesses and emergency services.

[This is not relevant to the consumer concerns, which haven't reached 
the stage of a Bill yet.


Conroy delays bill to rein in telemarketers
NINA HENDY
The Sydney Morning Herald (Business Section)
March 12, 2010
http://www.smh.com.au/business/media-and-marketing/conroy-delays-bill-to-rein-in-telemarketers-20100311-q1oe.html

THE bill to extend the Do Not Call Register to include businesses has 
been struck from the federal parliamentary schedule, representing a 
clear victory for the advertising and marketing industry.

The proposed legislation had gained support from a Senate inquiry and 
was to have been debated in Parliament yesterday but was removed from 
the agenda.

A spokeswoman for the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the 
Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy, said he remained committed 
to the extension of the register to include businesses.

However, the delay gives the advertising and marketing sector another 
chance to persuade the government to dump the bill.

The spokeswoman went on to say that the department would continue to 
meet interested parties to discuss the detail of the legislation, 
which confirms that the government believes the issue warrants 
further debate.

The reprieve comes after strong opposition from the advertising, 
marketing and telecommunications industries, which argued that the 
proposed extension of the register would restrict legitimate 
telemarketing.

If passed, the bill would prevent small businesses from calling a 
business to promote, advertise or propose to supply goods and 
services. Failure to check a phone number against the register would 
result in a maximum $1.1 million fine for every day a business was in 
breach.

The development comes the same week that the Council of Small 
Business of Australia met representatives of Senator Conroy's office 
to negotiate a compromise on the extension of the register.

The council chairwoman, Jaye Radisich, was relieved by the delay and 
said small businesses needed to generate new leads by telephone to 
build their business. She said the council was concerned about the 
adverse effect on small- and medium-sized businesses.

The Australian Direct Marketing Association's director of corporate 
and regulatory affairs, Melina Rohan, said: "The decision to put this 
issue on the backburner is entirely sensible given the considerable 
costs and restrictions this would impose on Australian businesses."

The chief executive of the Australian Association of National 
Advertisers, Scott McClellan, said stronger justification was needed 
before introducing new regulatory compliance obligations that could 
interfere with normal commerce, hinder business growth and increase 
business costs.


-- 
Roger Clarke                                 http://www.rogerclarke.com/
			            
Xamax Consultancy Pty Ltd      78 Sidaway St, Chapman ACT 2611 AUSTRALIA
                    Tel: +61 2 6288 1472, and 6288 6916
mailto:Roger.Clarke at xamax.com.au                http://www.xamax.com.au/

Visiting Professor in the Cyberspace Law & Policy Centre      Uni of NSW
Visiting Professor in Computer Science    Australian National University