Telstra: Plans Legal Action Against Australia Comms Minister

SYDNEY -(Dow Jones)- Australia's Telstra Corp. Tuesday said it plans to take Communications Minister Helen Coonan to court over her decision on license conditions relating to the group's CDMA mobile network, in its second court action against the Minister.

"Telstra today filed documents in the Federal Court that clearly indicate the Minister has breached her Ministerial duties by making up her mind about the imposition of the license condition to block the closure of the old CDMA network - an integral part of the Next G network plan - even before receiving submissions and evidence from Telstra as to why such a license condition was unnecessary and bad for the bush," the company said in a statement.

"By law the Minister was required to consider the matter with an open mind and recent comments by her and her colleagues show that this was clearly not the case," Telstra CountryWide Group Managing Director Geoff Booth said.

He said the company is committed to switching off its CDMA network on Jan. 28, 2008.

If successful, Telstra said the legal action will stop the Minister from issuing a license condition until the matter is heard.

-By Lyndal McFarland, Dow Jones Newswires; 61-2-8235-2957; lyndal.mcfarland@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

Posted to the site on 11th September 2007