Telstra NBN deal a step forward: Greens

The Australian Greens are encouraged by the announcement of the heads of agreement between Telstra and NBNco.

"All players have noted that there is still a long way to go, but this agreement heads off an expensive and protracted conflict between Telstra and the Australian Government which would have led to wasteful duplication of resources," said Australian Greens communications spokesperson Scott Ludlam.

"We won't now have two wholesale networks competing in a space which most people recognise is a natural monopoly.

Senator Ludlam also noted the irony of Australian taxpayers spending billions of dollars to buy back a network that should never have been privatised.

"It may be that this is a significant step along the way to undoing some of the damage that was done when we privatised the national telecommunications carrier."

"The Greens will carefully scrutinise the details of today's announcement, which still has to meet the approval of the ACCC, Telstra's shareholders, and eventually, the Parliament.

"The Government should now bring the Telstra legislation back to the Parliament so that it can be debated," Senator Ludlam said.

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