Page 997 - Week 04 - Thursday, 18 June 1992
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Case three considers a service being disconnected where the family may have been interstate or in hospital. The household member contacts the Essential Services Review Committee and applies for relief. The committee can require that the service be reconnected until the committee considers the issue. The Essential Services Review Committee can then reduce the debt or make it payable by instalment. Again, if it considers that it is a try-on, a penalty can be imposed.
Because ACTEW would engage most of the attention of the review committee, the Community Law Reform Committee believes that secretariat support should be located within ACTEW. The Government agrees with this suggestion, as it will help to minimise costs through the use of existing ACTEW staff and accommodation. It will minimise transaction costs involved in dealing with ACTEW accounts. Like the Community Law Reform Committee, the Government sees one striking advantage in such a location. It is very likely that ACTEW would give effect to its debt recovery policy in such a way as to forestall the need of a consumer suffering substantial financial hardship to approach the review body at all. In effect, the presence of the review body within ACTEW will operate as a watchdog on ACTEW's own policies.
In preparing its report the Community Law Reform Committee has ensured that the proposed scheme complements existing debt management and debt relief processes which ACTEW and other service providers already have in place. The proposed scheme also complements the existing concessional scheme. The concession scheme will continue to give long-term support for low income householders while the proposed scheme will give immediate assistance to any person in substantial financial hardship facing the crisis of disconnection. Together these schemes will provide more comprehensive and targeted assistance to households in meeting the costs of essential services than is currently available. This will be particularly important this winter. This will be landmark legislation in that no other State or Territory has introduced such an innovative scheme. Madam Speaker, I commend the Bill to the Assembly and present the explanatory memorandum for the Bill.
Debate (on motion by Mr Westende) adjourned.
BUILDING (AMENDMENT) BILL 1992
MR CONNOLLY (Attorney-General, Minister for Housing and Community Services and Minister for Urban Services) (11.17): Madam Speaker, I present the Building (Amendment) Bill 1992.
Title read by Clerk.
MR CONNOLLY: Madam Speaker, I move:
That this Bill be agreed to in principle.
This Bill seeks to exempt certain minor building works from the present requirements for plan approval, building permits, issue of certificates of occupancy and use, and from the requirements for statutory warranties and insurance.
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