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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1998 Week 1 Hansard (30 April) . . Page.. 233 ..

MR HUMPHRIES: Included in the 694 there certainly are a number of particular units of operation which focus on work outside that of community policing in the ACT. Some of the units you have referred to may be included among the total number. Bear in mind, of course, that the ACT pays for only 600 or so of that 694, to account for work done on behalf of the Commonwealth by those police. There is a great deal of grey area that needs to be sorted out. I certainly would be interested in finding out which of those positions or areas of operation you have referred to are included in the figures and to what extent they should be there, based on whether they actually conduct any substantial operations on behalf of the people of the ACT rather than the Commonwealth Government.

MR CORBELL: Mr Speaker, my question is to the Chief Minister. Chief Minister, today the chair of the ACTEW board echoed the Government's rhetoric that if we do nothing the value of ACTEW will decline. Labor trusts that this is not a planned strategy to force the Assembly to agree to the sale of ACTEW. It is the responsibility of the shareholders and the board of ACTEW to protect and improve the value of the taxpayers' investment in ACTEW. The Chief Minister and principal shareholder has abrogated her responsibility in this regard by stating that the future of ACTEW, particularly Ecowise, is up to the board. So that this Assembly can be assured that the board is acting in the best interests of ACTEW's owner - the people of Canberra - will the Chief Minister report to the Assembly on the board's activities and the outcomes of its efforts to maintain and improve ACTEW's customer base prior to commissioning the Fay Richwhite report as well as subsequently?

MS CARNELL: ACTEW, like all corporations, reports now under the Corporations Law. They also turn up in committees when they are asked to do so. They are a part of estimates committees.

Mr Humphries: The Australian Securities Commission.

MS CARNELL: Yes, the Australian Securities Commission. Mr Speaker, Mr Corbell has just shown what the problem is right now with ACTEW being able to compete in a private sector market. When questions like that are asked in a place like this of a corporation that is attempting to operate in a very difficult market, when slurs are made against people such as Jim Service, Michael Easson - a well-known Liberal Party member! - - -

Mr Corbell: I take a point of order, Mr Speaker. On no occasion did I mention any of those individuals. If anyone is slurring those individuals, it is the Chief Minister. I would ask you, Mr Speaker, to ask the Chief Minister to withdraw that comment. I made no such accusation.

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