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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1998 Week 2 Hansard (20 May) . . Page.. 365 ..

MR CORBELL (continuing):

Mr Speaker, why is this Bill needed? It is needed because the current situation is quite unsatisfactory. The Territory Owned Corporations Act as it currently stands means that the shareholders of a Territory-owned corporation - currently the Chief Minister and the Deputy Chief Minister - can vote to dispose of any part or the whole of a Territory-owned corporation and simply inform the Assembly afterwards of their decision. That, Mr Speaker, is completely unsatisfactory. A decision to privatise can be made for purely political purposes. It can be made to plug a hole in a budget for just one year, but the Territory loses an asset that presented an ongoing form of revenue for years and years to come. That is why, primarily, we have decided to introduce this Bill into the Assembly.

The privatisations that have occurred in Australia and overseas have quite often been made for purely budgetary reasons in the short term. They have not perceived the long term; they have not recognised the value of retaining an asset in community hands in the long term. Indeed, Mr Speaker, it is fair to say that governments have treated as their own personal property assets that are owned by everyone in the community. We are lucky here in Canberra, in that this Assembly has greater power to direct and request of the Executive than many other parliaments do. For that reason, this Bill puts into the hands of the parliament the future ownership prospects of assets that are owned by everyone in our community. Territory-owned corporations are not owned by the shareholders; they are owned by the shareholders in trust on behalf of everyone in Canberra. Everyone in Canberra should have a say about the future ownership of those assets.

It is important to remember that for many decades, in instances like ACTEW, ACTTAB and even Totalcare Industries, the community has invested a significant amount of money, and invested a significant amount of time and effort, in building these structures into profitable and highly effective Territory-owned assets. These companies trade well and they trade profitably. This amendment to the Territory Owned Corporations Act, if it is successful, will mean that the Government will have to present a clear and solid reason as to why a privatisation should occur. We are not prepared to accept any longer the Government saying, "We know what is best; we have to sell this asset". That is not their decision to make. That is the community's decision to make, and the community, through their elected representatives, should be allowed to make the decision on the future ownership of any of the assets that they own. Decisions affecting the future of these assets rightly rest with the people of Canberra.

Mr Speaker, this is a simple Bill. It is a straightforward Bill. Members may or may not choose to support the two-thirds majority option; but that does not mean that they have to oppose the Bill, because the Bill allows for a simple vote to approve or disapprove the sale of a Territory-owned corporation. There is also a provision covering the situation if the Assembly decides, through its standing orders, to impose a special majority on a vote in relation to section 16 of the Territory Owned Corporations Act if amended by this Bill.

Mr Speaker, I have already outlined briefly the reasons why we believe a special majority is warranted, but I would like to expand on that with a few more arguments. The first is that decisions that we make in this place can often be changed in future Assemblies. Decisions affecting a particular law can be changed and changed back again.

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