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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 14 Hansard (10 December) . . Page.. 4862 ..

MRS CARNELL (continuing):

An extra cost on those people every time a tenant leaves could be a huge impost. It would be wrong to take the next step, which is the first step after going down the path of having energy efficiency ratings at the time of sale - something that does not happen that often. It is an obvious step flowing from the legislation already in place; that is, new houses have to have a four-star rating or better. Going down this path is in line with Mr Humphries's greenhouse gas targets; so, we will be supporting it, with the amendments that I spoke about.

MR CORBELL (4.43): There is no doubt that the legislation being put forward today by the Greens is, indeed, complex legislation. Whilst relatively simple in its drafting, the issues that it addresses are complex and deal with very important issues of energy efficiency and energy consumption in residential premises. The Labor Party is supportive of the concerns which the Greens have raised in this legislation and supports wholeheartedly the need for people, when they are purchasing or renting a property, to understand how energy efficient that property is. At the moment, if you purchase an existing dwelling in the Territory - not a new house but an existing house; it may be one that is 10, 15, 20 years old - you have no idea, unless you seek it out deliberately and consciously, what the energy efficiency of that building is; how much it will cost you to heat that house in winter; how much it will cost you to keep the house cool in summer; and so on. I think it is entirely reasonable that people, when purchasing a property, understand what that property is going to cost them in the long run. Whilst it may appear attractive for them in the first instance to buy the property because of its price, they may not be aware of the costs that they will incur in the years to come in terms of heating and cooling if that house is energy inefficient. Certainly, we intend to support the Greens' Bill in relation to energy efficiency. We think it is appropriate and is certainly a step that is welcome.

I must say, Mr Speaker, that I am concerned to hear the Government saying that they do not believe the Act should come into effect until a new scheme has been developed. They seem to be very open-ended about when they believe that should take place. I understand that Ms Tucker is proposing an amendment that would allow the Act to come into effect 12 months after its gazettal. We certainly feel that is satisfactory and is adequate time for the Government to make a judgment about the operation of ACTHERS, the ACT home energy rating scheme. I think I have the acronym correct. We think it is adequate time for them to make a judgment about the operation and efficiency of that scheme. This certainly should not be open-ended, which is what the Government is proposing.

We believe the Residential Tenancies (Amendment) Bill, proposed by Ms Tucker also, again, is appropriate. People in rental properties face the same costs as people owning a house do when it comes to heating and cooling their property. They also should be aware of how much it is going to cost them to heat and cool that property if they are in that rental property for six months, 12 months, 18 months, two years. Some indication, through the energy rating scheme, should be provided when that property is put up for lease or rental. I am concerned again to hear the Government say that they do not believe it is appropriate to move down that path in relation to rental properties. Mrs Carnell in her comments seemed - I may be misconstruing it - to be indicating that, every time a landlord puts a property out for rental, they need to get a new energy efficiency rating.

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