Page 3610 - Week 12 - Tuesday, 19 October 1993
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Mabo certainly shows that long debates in the media about complex issues that affect people's lives and undermine fundamental ground rules of investors, land owners and farmers will inevitably cause great anxiety in the community. And for what? Who could really say that, as a result of the whole convoluted process, anybody has gained or that reconciliation between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians is any closer or that relations are any more constructive? I know that many Aborigines believe that the Mabo situation has actually set back reconciliation, and this is obviously a tragedy for all Australians.
Mr Berry: Names? How many?
MRS CARNELL: People on the reconciliation council are saying that. Another important issue discussed was the national electricity grid. The ability this will bring for real free trade in electricity will certainly mean a more competitive and rational pricing structure that will be in everybody's best interest, although of recent days it seems that there may not be able to be appropriate agreement on such an issue. Nationally, there certainly would be savings in the generating capacity and related capital expenditure. I do not think anybody can doubt that. Let us hope that agreement can be reached. I was fascinated, though, by the Chief Minister's statement in this area:
... 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.
This is very interesting, taking into account the comments that were made on regular occasions during estimates. The council discussed the micro-economic reforms being achieved elsewhere among the States in their electricity, water and transport areas. These changes are important in "improving the competitiveness of Australia in the international economy". Those are not my words; they are straight out of the communique that was issued after the COAG conference.
Mr De Domenico: Was Ms Follett there?
MRS CARNELL: Ms Follett was there. It is appropriate to quote directly from the communique released after the COAG conference. Under the heading "Micro-Economic Reform", it says:
The Council discussed a range of micro-economic reform issues. It noted that progress is being made in the area of micro-economic reform including reform in the electricity, water and transport areas. The Council agreed that the momentum for reform needs to be maintained in the interests of improving the competitiveness of Australia in the international economy.
In other words, reform needs to be maintained. Obviously, in some States it needs to be hotted up a bit. It seems that the confusion in the ACT may be in the words "micro-economic reform". Maybe this Labor administration got only the micro bit right, meaning that there has been very little reform at all in this area. I wonder what the Chief Minister is going to say when she goes along to the next COAG conference.
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