Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . .

Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 11 Hansard (6 November) . . Page.. 3745 ..

MR KAINE (continuing):

It was those early agreements which established the pattern and the timetable for national reform in these matters. The Electricity (National Scheme) Bill did not just drop out of the sky, like a bolt of lightning, yesterday or today. The program has been well known. In fact, Mr Berry has been briefed on this matter on several occasions, even in the last week, because he did not seem to be able to comprehend the nature of what was going on. He simply either does not want to understand or will not understand. No matter how much briefing we have given him, his comment has always been, "I have not been sufficiently briefed".

The material that he quoted from earlier, which mentioned the date of 29 March next year as the next target date by which things in connection with electricity supply have to be determined, was published not in one annual report but in the annual reports of two different bodies last year. Those documents are on the public record. If Mr Berry is so concerned about the matter, why does he not take the trouble to read the annual reports of the two major controlling bodies that are controlling this move towards a national electricity market? To put it bluntly, Mr Speaker, he simply cannot be bothered. Then he comes in here and complains. He asserts that the Government somehow has been working in some kind of underhanded fashion to put in place these arrangements. The Government has not been working in such a fashion. The Government has been working perfectly openly on this matter.

Where there has been reason to suspect that members have not been fully informed, we have undertaken a comprehensive program of briefing. Officers of my department have been available to them, not only by arrangement, but at any time at their request. After all of that, they say that somehow we are trying to slip something past them. Mr Speaker, I totally reject that. There is nothing hidden in what is proposed in the Electricity (National Scheme) Bill. It is putting into place a program that was agreed to years ago and for which a program of implementation was agreed.

Mr Berry also seems to be confusing two different issues. One is the question of the reaching of agreements nationally and the implementation of legislation to put a national electricity market into place. That is what this legislation is about. It establishes the wholesale market, if you like, for arrangements for the electricity supply. On the other hand, there is the overriding legislation that deals with competition policy. Under that policy, there are certain financial payments due to the Territory from the Commonwealth, provided that we achieve certain milestones. Not only are those milestones related to electricity supply; they are related to a range of other things - gas, water and road construction. We have to meet all the deadlines with all of those in order to qualify for the next payment to come from the Commonwealth. If we miss any one of the deadlines in any one of those areas, it places that second payment, which is substantial, in jeopardy.

They are two different things, and they are two different timescales. We went through this comprehensively with Mr Berry only this morning, so that he understood the difference between the legislative program and the program of coming to agreement with the other State, Territory and Commonwealth governments on the one hand and our qualifications, our eligibility and our entitlement to receive payments under the competition policy on the other. There is nothing secret. It is on the table. It has been

Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . .