Page 1791 - Week 07 - Tuesday, 15 June 1993
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On the issue of electricity industry reform, the Commonwealth, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Queensland and the ACT agreed to the structural changes needed to enable the commencement of a competitive electricity market across eastern and southern Australia. This will mean that by 1 July 1995 there will be an interstate electricity transmission market stretching from South Australia round to Queensland. To finalise this, considerable work will need to be undertaken on a number of important and sensitive issues. These will include addressing market trading arrangements, grid pricing and regulatory framework issues. The budgetary impact on the States, the resolution of tax compensation issues, and reform arrangements for the Snowy Mountains scheme will also need to be addressed. The complexity of the electricity reform process tends to mask its significance for the ACT as a consumer of electricity. This being the case, it is most important to remind the Assembly that all of these reforms are aimed at creating greater competition between electricity producers and so provide consumers such as the ACT with choice between suppliers and the potential for lower prices than would otherwise have been the case.
COAG also addressed the issues arising from the Commonwealth's unilateral decision to abolish the separate fringe benefits income and assets tests for the pensioner health benefits card from 1 April 1993. The decision to extend the card to an additional group of part-pensioners and older long-term beneficiaries has created difficulties for all jurisdictions. In particular, the present practice of using that card as an eligibility criterion for State level fringe benefits and concessions has led to obvious resource implications for the States and Territories and the need for compensation to be addressed. Acknowledging this point, the Commonwealth agreed at last week's meeting to continue compensatory payments to the States and Territories for any resulting extension of benefits. A final decision on long-term arrangements will be made at the financial Premiers Conference on 5 July.
Heads of government also agreed at COAG that there should be nationally uniform public holidays, and that dates of observance would be certain. Furthermore, it was agreed that a working group of officials be established to ensure uniformity for substituted holidays when public holidays fall on a weekend. The group will have representation from all jurisdictions, including the ACT. It will report on the observance of Labour Day, as well as make a recommendation on an appropriate date for its uniform observance, by the next meeting of COAG. Importantly, the council has explicitly stated that it "has no intention of reducing the number of public holidays". Rather, emphasis will be placed on the benefits that would flow from uniform observance. Quite obviously, this move towards uniformity will have important and positive implications for the ACT and our unique relationship with New South Wales.
The council also discussed a Commonwealth proposal to consider matters related to the celebration of the centenary of federation in the year 2001. In particular, heads of government agreed to establish a broadly based national advisory committee with representatives from all jurisdictions, including the ACT, to progress strategies and options in this area from a national perspective. This is an important matter for the ACT in particular. While these celebrations are likely to be more modest in scale and nature than those associated with the bicentenary, Canberra's relationship to them is potentially akin to that of Sydney
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