Despite the accolades of luminaries like Rod Drury, Paul Budde and Ernie Newman, the "structural separation" offered by Telecom is little more than disposing of what has become a liability, ULL copper, and getting paid for someone else to solve the ULL puzzle. In their own words:
This Netco would own the physical copper access assets (but not
electronics). It must be able to receive an adequate (regulated) rate of
return in order to provide it with the cash flow necessary to invest to meet
customer demand. It would be prevented from investing upstream and
re-integrating. It could also potentially be protected by regulation from
network bypass if that was considered desirable to allow access cross-
subsidies.
Telecom high level proposal
Very clearly and very explicitly the proposed Netco is in fact a CopperCo. In roading terms, when Telecom was told to allow other suppliers up your drive way, they said fine, we'll just keep the streets. Let's look again in more detail.
  1. "Netco would own the physical copper access assets"

    That's all, not any fibre assets.

  2. "It would be prevented from investing upstream and
    re-integrating."

    A kind suggestion, lest we fall again under monopoly, but of course the monopoly has moved "upstream" and Telecom suggests this new Netco be prevented from investing there. The last thing they would want is a legacy last-mile operator entering competition with them.

  3. "It could also potentially be protected by regulation from
    network bypass if that was considered desirable to allow access cross-
    subsidies."

    Now I can't be sure what that means, but I get the feeling its offering the temptation of monopoly to the Netco investors, Telecom, State and Industry among them. None have shown much stomach for competition on their own patches.

Its a smart move, like all of Telecom's, and I can't imagine a greater irony than Telecom funding a greenfields monopoly fibre infrastructure from the proceeds of disposing of an asset thats value is compromised by its age and complexity now that the property of exclusive access has been removed, to those who have tormented it for the last decade.