The controversial legislation that could force Telstra into separation has been knocked off the Senate’s agenda until next year, pushed out by heated discussion around the carbon emissions trading scheme. The carbon issue also saw shadow communications minister Nick Minchin resign his position last night, with his opposition to proposed emissions trading legislation putting him at odds with the Coalition leadership.

Meanwhile, the Senate Select Committee on the National Broadband Network has called for the bill (and other proceedings around the NBN) to be put on hold pending further analyses, in what was to be its final report – but has now had its own tenure extended till 30 April 2010.

Despite a packed Senate program, the government remained optimistic of the bill getting an airing this week, prompting feverish speculation around which way Greens, Nationals, and independent senators would vote; operators including Telstra itself had previously been lobbying various Senate power blocs to get the bill either passed or deferred. But hopes of seeing a 2009 decision on the bill have now been dashed with the legislation nowhere to be seen on the online Senate Red yesterday afternoon, meaning that it cannot now pass through Senate until next year.

The Competitive Carriers Coalition, a group of Telstra’s rivals, lamented the delay – and called on communications minister Stephen Conroy to guarantee any interim negotiations with Telstra in separation were out in the open.

“The Government intended to provide for scrutiny of any structural separation deal in the Competition and Consumer Safeguards Bill, but the Senate appears to have run out of time to consider and pass that Bill because of the Emissions Trading Scheme imbroglio,” said CCC executive director David Forman. “This means that negotiations between Telstra and the Government for Telstra to separate its network and wholesale businesses will continue with no safety net to protect the interests of consumers and competitors… there is a grave risk that a deal will be done before the Bill can be brought back into the Parliament next year.”

“The CCC calls on the Minister to give a rock solid commitment that he will find a way to prevent Telstra from by-passing the public scrutiny and ACCC approval that his Bill envisages.”

SELECT COMMITTEE WEIGHS IN: Meanwhile, the Senate Select Committee on the NBN tabled its third report, with one of its battery of recommendations being that “further consideration of the bill not proceed until after the NBN Implementation Study has been completed, the government has tabled its response to the Implementation Study and the Senate has certainty about the network structure of the NBN Co and the regulatory framework which will surround it.”

Other recommendations from the report included that the government release a detailed business plan for the NBN’s Tasmanian rollout by the end of 2009, alongside an interim implementation study for the project nationally by the same date; and that a “rigorous cost-benefit analysis” be conducted before NBN Co. entered into any purchasing agreements for mainland deployment.

The Senate also agreed to extend the Committee’s own tenure out to the end of April next year, which Liberal senator and Committee chair Mary Jo Fisher attributed to “stalled progress with NBN rollout.”

The Committee itself, though, has a large number of Liberal senators – and the report featured some dissenting voices from Greens, Nationals and others. “The report as printed unfortunately reflects a tone of partisan bitterness and suspicion which reflects poorly on the collaborative and diligent way in which the committee and its staff undertook the research, field trips and public hearings,” said Greens senator Scott Ludlum in additional comments included in the report. “This issue [of the lack of a cost-benefit analysis] becomes something of a red herring.”

“The conclusions and recommendations arising from the Majority Report are not necessarily reflective of the evidence presented, rather an affirmation of the Opposition party’s criticisms of the Government's telecommunications polices,” added government senators in their minority report, appended to the main document.

MINCHIN QUITS: Meanwhile the Opposition’s campaign against the NBN might change course with the departure of Minchin as shadow comms minister last night. Minchin was one of six frontbenchers to resign last night citing their opposition to the proposed emissions bill. There was no word on a replacement for Minchin as we went to press.