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But I still had some grave concerns, and the big one for me, more than any other, was pricing. I was worried about what would happen to the prices. Once ACTEW was corporatised, would the prices all of a sudden go through the roof? That is what the majority of people out there are concerned with. I have sat here and listened to arguments about this and about that. To be quite frank, Mr Speaker, I am not overly concerned with all those things. I am mainly concerned with how the people who voted for me are going to benefit or suffer. The big concern for me was the pricing. I had a discussion with Mr De Domenico about an amendment that I am going to move. He allayed my fears about pricing. My amendment, which I will not speak about too much now, will propose a regulatory body, an independent tribunal which will monitor price. That was a big step towards convincing me.

Another issue was disconnections. I am aware that, more than anyone else, the people on low incomes, the people on social security, are the ones who suffer if prices go up. I have had an assurance from Mr De Domenico that the status quo will remain. Another thing that caused me many a sleepless night was the board. I had a problem with the board becoming a vehicle for jobs for the boys and the seven members of the board suddenly becoming seven of the Liberal Party faithful.

Mr Berry: Did you get a guarantee that the chairman's wages would not go up?

MR OSBORNE: That was another concern Mr Berry raised with me. I addressed with Mr De Domenico yesterday the wages for members of the board, and he assured me that the situation would remain as is.

Ms Follett: It will not be up to him, will it?

MR OSBORNE: I am on fire, Rosemary. Another issue concerned positions on the board. I had thought of moving an amendment in relation to the shareholders; but the Minister gave me an assurance that one spot on the board would be for someone from the Smith Family, the Salvation Army, or that side of life, who had a real feel for what was happening. We can all sit here and speculate about what it is like, but people from those organisations have a real feel for what it is like out there. We can sit here and argue for six months about a select committee and about which way ACTEW is going to go; but appointing to the board someone such as that, who will have an ongoing role in the direction that ACTEW takes, will give the people out there who suffer the most a voice. That, to me, was a big concern, and that was another thing that the Minister reassured me on.

Probably the big thing that sold me was the Trades and Labour Council support in principle for ACTEW. Today I received some figures on union members in ACTEW. They show that some 900 of the total work force of about 1,400 are union members and that 82 per cent of those 900 are members of unions which basically are not opposed to the corporatisation and 61 per cent are members of unions which not only support corporatisation but also advocate it from 1 July 1995. There has been a lot of talk about the TLC wanting corporatisation to start at the end of the enterprise bargaining deal. I suppose that it is a great bargaining tool for them, as it is for Dr Sargent, when they sit down around the table.

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