About this site
Phil Burgess, Telstra’s Group Managing Director, Public Policy & Communications shares his vision for nowwearetalking.
The idea for nowwearetalking came from a discussion with a shareholder. I was in a restaurant and he stopped by my table to say, “Aren’t you one of Sol’s Three Amigos?” I said, “Yes” and we shook hands.
My new friend said, “Keep it up, mate. I’m a Telstra shareholder. So are my kids. We didn’t really know what was happening till Sol started talking. We need you all to talk more. Let us know what is going on."
He continued, “I bought my shares at $7.40. They went as high as $9.00. They were hanging in around $5.00 when you guys came. Now they are in the fours, just like a lot of investment writers predicted.”
My new dinner partner went on, “What you are saying about regulation destroying value makes sense to me. What you say about regulation putting a damper on investment makes sense, too. The way things are now, we are getting even more regulations. It is really making me realise how regulators can play havoc with my retirement plan.”
The conversation closed with my new shareholder friend saying, “We need more information that we can use. The stuff we get from Telstra is all about numbers and finances. The stuff in the newspapers is about politics. We need information that helps us know what is possible and what we are missing and how life could be better if we all had broadband and the new services you talk about – and if we could find a way to fix the systems we have now, because some don’t work the way they should. So keep it going.”
Two days later – after discovering that a single mailing to shareholders cost close to $1.0 million -- we launched the idea of a special web site for shareholders and the public together – a place where we could address the digital revolution and what it can mean for how we live, work, play, learn and move about.
A few weeks later, we launched the idea of the Regulatory Scorecard, an assessment of telecoms regulations and how they help or harm consumers – and what they cost. Imagine what the money spent on regulatory compliance could buy if it were used to respond to consumer needs instead of endless reports to and meetings with government officials that are a hallmark of intrusive regulation. And how some regulations create uncertainty and therefore depress investment or force shareholders to give away their assets to competitors.
nowwearetalking is designed to provide telecoms shareholders and other interested parties with information about the digital revolution and how it can improve our quality of life in the 21st century.
nowwearetalking is also designed to increase the level of public discourse about the future of telecommunications in Australia. Telecommunications is too important to be left to the politicians, the regulators or the industry providers…or to back room discussions. The future of telecommunications deserves to be the subject of debate that includes all the people, including the major stakeholders in our society, and all points of view – some of which are now missing.
nowwearetalking is also designed to spark and inform a good debate about the future of telecommunications in Australia. On a visit to the NSW town of Lismore Telstra CEO Sol Trujillo said
“Debate is a good thing. These telecoms issues are important issues …Everyone should take part in that debate.
Debate is important as long as we respect each other.
Debate is important as long as we do it to learn from each other.
One of the great thinkers said that civilized people treat each other as reasonable – that’s why they argue. Barbarians don’t’ argue; barbarians club each other. We don’t do that…usually.
The bottom line: There is nothing wrong with a good argument – what we call debate.
It is through argument and debate in politics, in the media, and in the marketplace of ideas that civilized people get a glimpse of the truth and make decisions about their future.”
And few decisions can be more important or affect more people than decisions that are now being made about the future of telecommunications in Australia.
But debate must be informed. And becoming informed is a process, not an event.
nowwearetalking is designed to be part of that process. The information presented will be expanded and updated every day or so. New data will be presented regularly. We will take information from all sources, as long as it can be sourced and verified.
nowwearetalking will grow, expand and evolve as time goes on – partly in response to user contributions and questions.
We look forward to the continued dialogue through a channel that lets us speak the truth as we see it…and to be informed by others as they may see it.
Phil Burgess