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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1998 Week 9 Hansard (17 November) . . Page.. 2577 ..

MS CARNELL (continuing):

The particular seminar was chaired by the chief executive of my department. The presentations, which were the subject of Mr Corbell's question, were provided to staff by the director of the GBE Management Branch of my department on the ABN AMRO/DGJ Projects report on the scoping study of ACTEW Corporation and the Government's response to the recommendations of that report, and by the executive director, Operations, Department of Urban Services on recent developments in relation to ACTION.

The seminar cost a total of $465, being for room and equipment hire. Senior officers grades A, B and C staff from my department were invited to attend this seminar. Staff were not required to attend and they were free to leave at any point during the briefings. No record of attendance was kept. The seminar was conducted from 4.00 pm to 5.30 pm. I understand that it actually commenced at 4.15 pm and finished at 5.40 pm. I am advised that staff with family responsibilities and other commitments exercised free choice and either chose not to attend or left the briefings at their own convenience.

MS CARNELL: Mr Speaker, during question time on 28 October, Mr Corbell asked the Acting Chief Minister whether the number of sites picked up by ACTEW under the deregulated electricity market was 60. I can confirm that the number of sites or individual contracts picked up is approximately 60, according to ACTEW, representing an increase of 3 per cent in total electricity sold in the ACT. I can confirm that the number of sites lost at this point is approximately 178. This represents a loss of 7.1 per cent in terms of total energy sold by ACTEW and is a loss of about 17.5 per cent of the total energy that is currently contestable. Expressed another way, Mr Speaker, the number of customers lost by ACTEW amounts to approximately 100, while the number gained is approximately nine. These interstate customers were picked up by ACTEW, I am advised, on an almost non-existent profit margin. For the information of members, I can also advise that 55 per cent of ACTEW's total energy is now contestable.

MS CARNELL (Chief Minister and Treasurer) (3.30): Mr Speaker, I ask for leave of the Assembly to make a ministerial statement on the outcomes of the Special Premiers Conference.

Leave granted.

MS CARNELL: Thank you very much. Mr Speaker, I am delighted to be able to inform the Assembly that the Special Premiers Conference held in Canberra last Friday made significant progress towards some long overdue reforms in Commonwealth-State financial relations. As a nation, we are now on the verge of the most substantial reforms

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