ICT minister is country boy at heart

David Cunliffe admits to being totally reliant on mobile computing. Picture / Derek Flynn

It's somewhat surprising to learn that New Zealand's technology policy is being decided in a rustic, suburban cabin. A fancy office in a downtown high-rise, connected and wired with all the latest gadgets, would be more in line with expectations.

But given that Communications Minister David Cunliffe, the New Lynn cottage's primary occupant, is a self-described country boy who likes nothing more than fishing and boating, perhaps it's actually appropriate. His life, after all, is a bit like a Speight's ad, he says.

"I'm the South Island country boy that met the blonde from Auckland, but I'm still waiting for the box at Eden Park."

But Cunliffe, 42, probably won't have much time now to take in many rugby games. The newly re-elected MP for the New Lynn electorate was one of the big winners in Labour's new coalition Government, with a promotion to Cabinet. Aside from keeping his pre-election portfolios of Information and Communications Technology, Cunliffe was also given the jobs of Immigration Minister and Associate Minister of Economic Development.

With a wife and two young boys - a four-year-old and a seven-month-old - and a job that requires him to be in Wellington four days a week, it's going to be a grind.

"I'm really committed to being a good dad and a good husband as well as being a good minister," Cunliffe says. "Life is busy and full and that's just the way it is."

With the election out of the way, it's now time to get down to business. Most pressing for Cunliffe are his proposed changes to the Telecommunications Act, chief among which is the suggestion that the minister be allowed to accept or reject parts of a Commerce Commission recommendation. This change would allow the minister to fine-tune recommendations, so moves can be made "with a scalpel rather than a meat axe".

Cunliffe plans to have his bill ready by early next year and is hopeful it will be passed by the end of 2006.

Of more immediate concern, however, is the spectre of Telecom not meeting its wholesale broadband internet targets. The company promised to sign up 250,000 residential broadband customers by the end of 2005 with one-third through wholesale. But so far it has achieved less than half the wholesale target.

In the run-up to the election, Cunliffe repeatedly said "action will follow" if the goal is not met, and he'll now face pressure to follow through on that tough talk.

He's still considering a "spectrum of options", from doing nothing - which is unlikely, he says - to full structural separation. His ultimate response will depend not just on how close Telecom gets to its goal, but also the demeanour it demonstrates in getting there.

"The commitment made was in terms of numbers, and that would be the first thing the Government looks at," he says. "But attitude is not irrelevant, and I have said previously that a miss is different from a mile."

Making the tough decisions should be easier now, Cunliffe says, because of the additional clout of his new roles.

"It's great for the ICT sector now that the minister is in cabinet. It allows me to have more direct access and there is a degree of frankness in discussions inside the room which is not matched elsewhere," he says. "It reflects a recognition at very senior levels that the sector has an important role to play in our national economic development."

Favourite gadget: Blackberry. "It goes with me wherever I go. Some people call it a Crackberry because it's addictive. I have to remember to turn it off sometimes when I'm at home."
Next big thing in tech: "I'm looking to see WiMax hit town. WiMax and VoIP taken together have potential to drop costs and put broadband within reach of a lot of people that currently find it too expensive."
Spare time: "I'm a frustrated sailor, I don't seem to get enough time."
Alternative career: "What I'd like to do is get back into some more reflective, creative writing, preferably off the back of a boat somewhere with a laptop and a wireless connection."
Favourite sci-fi movie: The Matrix.