Page 1217 - Week 05 - Wednesday, 24 June 1992
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doing business, or is a monopoly imposing unfair penalties on the poor in the form of loss of service and additional reconnection costs? The answers suggested by the committee include a range of measures, both short term and long term. From a longer-term perspective, the committee made a number of suggestions about the heating efficiency of government rental stock. The committee found that in new construction of government housing stock the Housing Trust is conscious of energy efficiency principles and that the major problems of energy efficiency and affordability exist in the Housing Trust older stock. However, these longer-term problems cannot be addressed overnight. The Housing Trust will continue to examine new trends in energy efficient principles and to this end will continue to investigate features that are achievable, cost-effective and worthwhile inclusions in new housing stock.
Debt relief measures are not new in the Territory. The Government, through the Housing and Community Services Bureau, already provides electricity concessions to pensioners, war widows and veterans who satisfy eligibility requirements. These concessions provide continuing but limited assistance to alleviate the circumstances of those in need. They can be of little help when an essential service is threatened with disconnection. In such cases, the bureau and other welfare agencies can apply only limited cash reserves to meet emergency costs. In some cases, ACTEW and welfare agencies or customers are able to negotiate some relief through extended time for payment of the bill. ACTEW has also implemented a budget plan and is pursuing other initiatives.
The Community Law Reform Committee found that a lack of systematic approach in this area imposes additional pressures and costs on agencies and other people affected by disconnection. To remedy this situation, the Community Law Reform Committee recommended a debt relief scheme in the form of the legislation being considered by the Assembly. The legislation will establish a statutory independent review body, the Essential Services Review Committee. People suffering serious financial hardship who are directly affected by the disconnection of a domestic essential service will be able to seek relief from this committee when a service is disconnected or a threat to disconnect is made. The committee would have the power to provide relief, subject to conditions.
The Essential Services Review Committee will have the power to give extensive relief, from extra time to pay right through to the waiver of part or all of the bill. Under the proposed legislation the Essential Services Review Committee may agree to the option which best suits the particular case. Debt relief may come with conditions. A person may be required to undergo debt counselling or enter a debt budgeting scheme. Alternatively, more regular indications of the service may be provided to a household in the form of more frequent billing information. When technology catches up, this may include visible indications of the cost of, say, an individual heater or dryer.
As with all debt relief schemes, a problem lies in countering possible abuse of the scheme. In considering debt relief, the Community Law Reform Committee carefully considered the possible abuse of the scheme. Abuse can take many forms. It may take the form of a consumer simply delaying the payment of an account for the longest possible time. It may amount to fraudulent behaviour when an application is made for reasons unrelated to hardship. Abuse of debt relief schemes generates costs to the service provider and other consumers. We all suffer when someone rips off the system. The scheme proposed by the committee, and which we are considering, has a sting specifically designed for
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