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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 14 Hansard (11 December) . . Page.. 4996 ..

Mr Moore: Mr Moore did.

MS TUCKER: Mr Moore did, because he is very experienced. He was frightened that something like this might happen at the last minute; so he wisely checked the regulation. I am very grateful that he did. I certainly share his concerns. There is time for us to discuss implications of pricing and I hope that we will do that again in the next Assembly, but this is not the way to do it.

Amendment agreed to.

MR MOORE (6.16): I now speak to the motion as amended. The serious issues raised here, as Mr Kaine calls them, will indeed be dealt with by the prices commissioner but in a different context. The prices commissioner will not be dealing with them as part of what is driving him. He will be dealing with them when they are submitted to him by ACTEW. ACTEW will come to him and say, "These are all the things that suit ACTEW" and they can be balanced against all the things that suit the consumer.

Let us look at the outcomes and the future price path that the commissioner announced in his press release of 2 May 1997:

Prices beyond 1997/98 have not been determined. However, the Commission has indicated that:

. There is scope for future price reductions although this will depend upon market developments and environmental standards.

I can see why ACTEW got frightened by that and why pressure has been put on the Liberals and the Government to say, "Let us make sure the prices commissioner is looking at these things the way we want him to look at them, not the way he has been looking at them". The press release continues:

. Future electricity charges will be subject to variations in the wholesale price of electricity and the extent to which the retail market is opened up to competition. -

we know that -

. Water usage charges should be rationalised with a common usage fee charged for all water consumed. This would replace the current inclining block tariff. A transition step would be the adoption of ACTEW's proposal to reduce the consumption allowed under the lower priced first block from 350 kilolitres to 175 kilolitres a year.

. The bases for setting water and sewerage fixed charges for non residential customers need to be reviewed to better reflect potential demands on the system.

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