EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
STATUTORY RULE 1987 No. 337 ISSUED BY THE AUTHORITY OF THE MINISTER FOR TRANSPORT AND COMMUNICATIONS
Section 112 of the Telecommunications Act 1975 (‘the Act’) provides, inter alia, that the Governor-General may make regulations, not inconsistent with the Act, prescribing all matters which by the Act are required or permitted to be prescribed by the regulations, or which are necessary or convenient to be prescribed by the regulations for carrying out or giving effect to the Act.
Section 103 of the Act provides that where the Australian Telecommunications Commission (‘Telecom’) learns, as a result of information furnished to Telecom by a person, the identity of a person who has wilfully damaged, defaced, interfered with, removed or destroyed property belonging to, or under the control of, Telecom, Telecom may pay to the first-mentioned person, by way of a reward, a sum determined by Telecom but not exceeding $100 or such higher amount as may be prescribed by the regulations.
Regulation 43 of the Telecommunications Regulations previously provided that the higher amount for the purposes of section 103 of the Act was $2,000.
It was decided that in the light of recent events, such as the sabotage of the Telecom Sydney Central Business District cable network, that the amount of reward payable by Telecom to a person for information on the identity of vandals be increased to a maximum of $50,000.
The statutory rule amends regulation 43 to increase the maximum amount payable by Telecom under section 103 of the Act to $50,000 and is deemed to have come into operation on 23 November 1987.