Page 1097 - Week 04 - Thursday, 1 April 1993
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MRS CARNELL (5.10): Madam Speaker, what we see here is a heavy-handed attempt by the Labor Left to turn one of the more efficient organisations in the ACT into another dull arm of government. ACTEW has consistently improved its efficiency and cost-effectiveness over recent years, to the extent that it was able to pay the ACT Government over $19m in the most recent financial year.
ACTEW is completely internally self-funding, providing water and electricity to the people of the ACT at one of the lowest rates in Australia, and at the same time paying substantial dividends to the ACT Government. But this has not been enough for the ACT Labor Government. It has continually required ACTEW to pay higher dividends to government - in fact, $21m this year, I understand.
Mr De Domenico: No, $20.5m, because of this agreement.
MRS CARNELL: Yes, that is right. Not content just to ask for more money, this Labor Government actually stipulated how this increased dividend will be found. They have said to ACTEW, "You will achieve these savings internally and not pass on any increased costs to the public". At first look, this might seem a reasonable request, and so it would be if this ideologically moribund Government had not taken away one of the tools ACTEW needed to achieve these internal savings, and that is the capacity to negotiate a better deal with staff.
The absolute lack of logic in this whole situation never ceases to amaze me. The ACT Government says to ACTEW, "You will achieve internal savings". So ACTEW goes to the EPU in an attempt to comply with the Government's direction and proceeds to negotiate an enterprise agreement.
Mr De Domenico: Quite sensible.
MRS CARNELL: Quite sensible, and it is an incredibly appropriate response. The purpose of these negotiations, of course, was to rid ACTEW of inefficient work practices, to achieve structural efficiencies, and to increase productivity - an amazingly sensible approach and exactly what enterprise bargaining is all about. In line with Federal Labor policy and the whole thrust of labour market reform, an industry based agreement was reached.
Mr Lamont: Federal Labor policy is something that you embrace warmly, is it?
MRS CARNELL: No; but it is Labor Party policy. The outcome of all this was an industry based agreement. What a positive outcome for everyone involved!
Mr De Domenico: Where is Mr Berry?
MRS CARNELL: I think he is going to solve the methadone problem. This agreement contained the requirements for ACTEW to achieve internal efficiencies - $500,000 worth of internal efficiencies. Let us remember that the imperative for ACTEW to find these internal efficiencies came from the Labor Government itself. It was the Labor Government that forced ACTEW, although I am sure ACTEW would have been happy to do it anyway, to go to the union to attempt to find these internal efficiencies. The agreement also suited the union, which got a better deal for its members - something that does not seem to be a problem.
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