On the matter of costs, Dr Switkowski said the Telstra board had begun discussions on the company's 2003-04 capital spending requirements and was aiming to keep the total bill under $3 billion, compared with $3.3 billion this year. He said staff levels would continue to decline. The head count at Telstra had been falling in recent years by 8-10 per cent annually, and in the first half of 2002-03 the number of staff was down by just under 2000. "Is there room for substantial continuing cost reductions in Telstra?