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The prime aim of a business is to generate profit. Good business practice also imposes some degree of social and environmental obligation on business. However, the degree to which the business will pursue this is limited to where it sees an opportunity for economic gain. ACTEW is not an ordinary business. It is now and is likely to continue to be a monopoly provider of water, sewerage and electricity for the residents of the ACT. For the community, there is much more at stake than just dollars. All residents of the ACT are shareholders in ACTEW. We must ensure that those things that do not make an immediate contribution towards the bottom line are not neglected. We must also make every effort to ensure that those activities that in themselves may not be costly to ACTEW but have significant impact on the community and the environment are not neglected.

It is a requirement that the boards of statutory authorities be appointed by a Minister through a disallowable instrument of appointment. That means that there is at least some degree of accountability to the Assembly with respect to who sits on the board of a statutory authority. However, a corporatised ACTEW will not be a statutory authority; it will be an independent entity where the Government, holding the voting shares, will be able to appoint anybody they care to appoint to the board of directors. This may be news to some members of this Assembly. It means that appointments to the board of directors of ACTEW will not be subject to disallowance by the Assembly. We, the members of this Assembly, will find it very difficult to have any influence on the appointment process. That gives this amendment added importance. Through this amendment we can at least do something to ensure that not all the members of the board will be hand-picked by the Government to suit its own personal political agenda.

Requirements for the members of the board are not only a sound knowledge of business and an understanding of the community the corporation serves; creativity and openness to approaching new ideas are also essential. Creativity is gained through a diversity of opinions. This is a fundamental of the success of democracy. This amendment seeks to ensure that a diversity of opinions and representatives who are knowledgeable about basic community needs and concerns are represented on the board of ACTEW. Opinions are generated through individual experiences. A person who has worked all their life in the corporate world is not going to be as aware of those in need as a person who has worked with, for example, the Salvation Army or a welfare rights group. Sometimes these skills and knowledge overlap; often they do not.

No person can reasonably say that, because they have read about social concerns and donated money to a charitable organisation, they have a true understanding of the basic social needs of the less fortunate members of the community, those members of the community who are not in the position to give money to a charity but rather are in need of the support of these charities. According to a report given to me recently, charities in Victoria pay an estimated $7m each year to that State’s power, water and gas companies on behalf of people in need. The precious resources of the charities are being spent to make up for the socially irresponsible actions of the utilities. Our amendment alone will not ensure that similar things will not occur in the ACT. It does ensure that those in need will have on the board a person who is at least aware of their needs and who can work to respond to them.

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