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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 11 Hansard (6 November) . . Page.. 3707 ..

MR KAINE (continuing):

In conclusion, I have to say that the Government believes that the passage of this Bill is essential to ensure that customers are fully protected from possible monopoly pricing strategies of monopoly or near monopoly service providers in the future. The nature of the commission and the environment in which it operates are such that it will have a future beneficial impact on the economic development and wellbeing of the Territory. For those reasons, I commend the Bill and the Government's amendments when they come before the Assembly.

Question resolved in the affirmative.

Bill agreed to in principle.

Detail Stage

Clauses 1 and 2, by leave, taken together, and agreed to.

Clause 3

MR KAINE (Minister for Urban Services) (12.01): Mr Speaker, I move:

Page 2, line 10, subclause (1), definition of "access regime", after "facilities", insert "wholly or partly located within the Territory that are".

I present a supplementary explanatory memorandum to the Bill. Mr Speaker, this amendment is a simple one. Its purpose is to restrict the powers of the regulatory commission to the assets of corporations that actually exist in the Australian Capital Territory. That applies not only to the assets of ACT corporations but also to the assets of any other corporation that comes and operates in the Territory from elsewhere. It does not apply to assets that exist outside the Territory. Those will be controlled under the laws of the State in which they exist. So we are merely establishing a mechanism to control what actually happens within the boundaries of the Australian Capital Territory.

MR WHITECROSS (12.03): The Labor Party will be supporting this amendment.

Amendment agreed to.

Clause, as amended, agreed to.

Clause 4

MR WHITECROSS (12.03): Mr Speaker, my circulated amendment is in similar terms to Mr Kaine's amendment No. 2. I seek leave to amend the amendment to use the form of words that Mr Kaine circulated.

Leave granted.

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