COLD CALLS TO BE CUT OFF

Sydney, April 7 NZPA - You're successfully doing two things at once: eating your dinner and watching the gripping finale of an old episode of Gunsmoke and the phone rings.

Someone from ABT (Annoying Bloody Telemarketers) is calling, asking if you would spare a quick couple of minutes to answer a few questions about road tolls.

"I can't because I'm feeding my 10 children," you lie, knowing Samantha from ABT will be harassingly persistent if she knows she is only interrupting your spaghetti bolognaise and Marshall Matt Dillon trying to rescue Miss Kitty from the latest bunch of outlaws invading Dodge City.

Samantha nevertheless persists and because you're tired you weaken and say OK, though knowing a quick couple of minutes elapse at the same pace as a slow couple of minutes.

Samantha asks whether you own a car. "No," you reply. Do you own any vehicle? "No," you answer, knowing that this sounds dodgy given you would need your own bus to transport those 10 fictitious offspring.

"I'm sorry sir, you are not eligible to continue with our survey," says Samantha abruptly. "Thank you for your time."

You got off lightly, but back on the couch, the spag is a couple of degrees colder and the Gunsmoke theme is playing as the credits roll down the screen.

You know Matt Dillon and Miss Kitty live to fight another day because it's an early episode but it is of little consolation.

It's a minor instance. One young Australian mum with a teething 10-month-old received 16 calls in just half a day from telemarketers spruiking products and doing surveys.

Australians received more than a billion calls from telemarketers last year, a household average of nearly three a week.

Remedies sought by recipients have included the blowing of whistles or more commonly, screamed abuse at the callers.

The federal Government has finally responded, promising a "Do Not Call" register, so that people who don't want to be called will gain protection from the law.

About four million people are expected to rush on to the register. Companies breaking the law face fines of up to $A220,000 ($NZ264,933) a day.

Self-regulation by the direct marketing industry proved toothless. It couldn't stop rogue operators harassing homes.

Communications Minister Helen Coonan said that under the free scheme, to start next year, individuals and businesses would be able to opt out of receiving unsolicited telemarketing calls.

"I'd certainly like to think that the establishment of a national "Do Not Call" register will certainly give families a bit of peace at meal times," Ms Coonan told the ABC.

"What it will do is allow people who don't want to be disturbed to not receive telemarketing calls, because they've put their name on this register."

There are, however, doubts about the effectiveness of such a register.

Groups who fall under the label of "specified public interest bodies", such as charities, political lobbyists and opinion pollsters, will be exempt and able to call people on the register.

Ms Coonan said that though charities could still call, there would be new rules governing when.

"What we'd like to do is to establish some standards so that, for example, on weekdays there aren't any calls after, say, 8 pm, and perhaps on weekends more like 5 pm. That would be something that will enable legitimate calls to be made within reasonable hours."

Both the United States and the United Kingdom have introduced "do not call" registers in recent years and they have proved popular, with 55 million in the US signing up.

New Zealand has resisted such a register, with telemarketers regulated by their own industry and additional protection to consumers coming from the Privacy Act.

Much of the direct marketing in Australia comes from overseas call centres, particularly India, acting on behalf of Australian companies and Ms Coonan expected those would come under the ambit of the new legislation.

The Government will provide $A17.2 million of the $A33 million establishment cost, with the remainder to come from the telemarketing industry.

The Australian Direct Marketing Association has questioned whether companies will be able to afford to fund the outstanding $A15.8 million.

It has also suggested the phone remedies could see an increase in direct marketers knocking on doors and soliciting business in city streets -- already a bugbear for many in central Sydney.

In the meantime more people are opting for caller identification on their phones and refuse to answer them unless they know who is ringing.

Smart folk -- they can watch Gunsmoke in peace.