Distance has always been a defining challenge for Australians. The technological and communications changes of the last 50 years have therefore had particular impact on Australia.Australia has invested heavily to ensure that all people in Australia, including those in remote communities, have access on an equitable basis to telephones and payphones.

• About 97 per cent of Australian households have tele-phones, while the number of lines per 100 inhabitants (51.2) continues to increase.

• Individual mobile phone use had passed the 6.5 million mark by the end of 1999—over one-third of the total population.

Government policy is to facilitate open market competition in the supply of telecommunications infrastructure and services. There have been substantial changes since new legislation was passed in July 1997: now 25 licensed carriers deliver telecommunications services—a quantum leap from mid-1997, when there were only three. Prices are down and services are expanding. Pushing for more productivity customer focus, Australia has exposed its public telephone company to competition and part-privatised it.                                  

The development and growth of the Internet has led to it becoming one of the most important services provided by the telecommunications industry. Australians are already important innovators on the Internet. They understand why dissolving distance is important.

The long haul to competitiveness

Australia has a surface area of almost 7.7 million square kilometers and most of its 19 million people live in widely separated cities along its 36 000 km coastline.

Getting coal, ore, grain, meat and other goods from outback to port and beyond requires a haul of billions of tonne-kilometres. Australian producers are good at the long haul, and recent changes have resulted in world-class productivity in the ports.

A new national strategy, called e Transport, was launched in December 1999. It will harness the enormous potential of new information and communications technologies to make Australia's transport more efficient and benefit the nation by as much as $1 billion a year.

Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) will help save lives and reduce injuries on Australia's roads, cut congestion and traffic emissions, improve transport efficiency and make transport systems more accessible and user-friendly.

Road System

Total length of road network is 810,000 kms. There are about nine million vehicles on Australia's roads. More than 70 per cent of all goods are moved by road.  More than 80 percent of Australia's transport task are carried out on 20 per cent of the roads network. In the year 1997 the Australian Government have spent almost $2.5 billion on the national highways, the principal network of routes linking major capital cities and some provincial centers. Eighty percent of all Australians live within 49 km of it. Each year, more than $5 billion is spent improving and maintaining the 810,000 km Australian road network. The Australian Government is working with road and transport authorities to investigate new and innovative ways of improving the efficiency of road construction and maintenance works. Greater emphasis is being placed on competition and improved tender processes for road work. 
 
Private sector investment in road construction will be permitted as a means of enhancing the road system in places where the construction costs and net economic benefits are particularly high.

Australia's road freight task is estimated at 95 billion tones kilometers a year, or 34 per cent of total transport activity using this indicator. Through the National Road Transport Commission (NRTC), an agency supported by all governments.  Australia is introducing nationally consistent heavy vehicle charges and a single set of heavy vehicle regulations. These will replace many different charges and regulations applying in the various states and territories.
The first set of single charges started by the NRTC was implemented in 1995 after which heavy vehicle operators paid the same road use charges for their particular vehicle, regardless of the state of territory of operation. This and other planned changes, including development of a national code of regulations, will server to further increase the efficiency of the road transport industry.

Rail System

Australia's rail reform strategy to upgrade the quality of the interstate rail network focuses on the establishment of the National Rail Corporation and a substantial program of rail investments, which are funded under the Australian Land Transport Development Program.

National Rail, jointly owned by the Australian Government and the governments of New South Wales and Victoria, is providing a nationwide service and facilitating the complete integration of all interstate rail freight operations under a single management.The Australian Government is investing some $429 million in the interstate rail network, including completion of the standard gauge mainline between Perth and brisbane, and connecting rail links to major ports.This rail infrastructure program will accelerate modernization of Australia's rail system by complementing national Rail's own investment program.

Ports

Australia has about 70 ports of commercial significance.  All ports are primarily the responsibility of State governments or private operators.

Airports

Australia's international carrier Qantas, acquired Australian Airlines in 1992.  The combined airline is in the process of being privatized with 25 per cent having been sold to British Airways and the remaining 75 per cent to be sold by a public float. Ansett Australia started regular overseas service in September 1993 initially between four Australian capitals and Bali, Indonesia, with services now extended to Hong Kong and Japan.

Aviation policy reforms designed to improve competition include a system of multiple designation which allows Australian carries, in addition to Australia's international airline, Qantas, to operate international air services. As a result, Ansett Australia has obtained capacity to begin operating on the Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Japan routes.

Scheduled domestic airlines carry more than 18 million passengers a year and cover about 19 billion passenger kilometers The Federal Airports Corporation owns and operates a number of airports, including most of the capital city primary and secondary airports. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is responsible for setting safety standards and control. Forty-seven international airlines, including freighter airlines and Qantas, operated regular services to Australia in 1995.

Power

State public utilities supply about 94 per cent of Australia's electricity. Most is produced using coal fired power plants supplemented by natural gas-fired units and hydroelectric schemes. Australia's large reserves of readily accessible coal enable electricity to be produced at costs which are low by world standards. Consequently there has been a rapid growth in electricity-intensive industry in the past 20 years. The Government is currently streamlining the marketing of electricity in Australia, establishing a national electricity grid to provide a fully competitive electricity market for businesses.

Telecommunication

Fundamental restructuring of the Australian telecommunications industry in 1991-92 resulted in the merger of the former government owned domestic and international monopoly suppliers, Telecom Australia and OTC, to form Telstra, Optus Communications was then introduced to the market as a competitor to the newly merged company and legislation was passed implementing competitive safeguards and permitting full resale of telecommunications capacity. A third license to provide public mobile services was subsequently issued to Vodafone Pvt Ltd. Increased competition has led to significant 
price reductions for long distance and mobile telecommunications services.  Price reductions of seven per cent for mobile and international calls were recorded in 1993-94 while the cost of Telstra's domestic long-distance calls also fell by more than five percent. A wide-ranging review, aimed at determining regulative arrangements, is underway in preparation for the June 30, 1997 end to the transitional fixed network duopoly.