Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . .

Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1998 Week 11 Hansard (8 December) . . Page.. 3197 ..

MR STEFANIAK (continuing):

The New South Wales Government convened an urgent meeting in October following a fatal accident in the electricity industry. Their industrial relations Minister said that there had been a number of serious accidents that had raised serious safety concerns. In the same month, hot water was cut to 7,000 residents at Lake Macquarie after a breakdown at the local energy substation. Power supplies were also cut to some 2,000 affected homes. Again, problems under public ownership.

The cost of the contamination crisis to Sydney Water continues to rise as commercial customers finalise the costs to their operations. Sydney Water has already been ordered to give 1.2 million affected property and business owners a $16 rebate and to freeze prices. These measures will cost $25m. It is also facing a multi-million dollar class action. The New South Wales Auditor-General has questioned why the Government has not inserted water quality standards in the licence conditions for Sydney Water. The Auditor-General stated:

... that the Minister for Planning issues a water licence for Sydney Water and he has an auditor to examine the licence conditions including water quality standards. The question is why, if in 1988 Milwaukee had 100 deaths and several thousand illnesses from a cryptosporidium outbreak, 10 years later that was not in the licence conditions.

In her first five months in office the New South Wales Energy Industry Ombudsman has received more than 1,200 complaints. So, let us again ask the question: Who owns these businesses in Queensland and New South Wales? They are government owned. Similarly, in Auckland the electricity distributor, Mercury Power, is a government business enterprise, really no different from what ACTEW is today.

Let us look at what has occurred in Victoria following the privatisation of the electricity industry. In regard to electricity prices in Victoria, the real price of electricity for domestic consumers fell by 9 per cent between July 1993 and June 1996 and the prices are still falling. After June 1996 a further 2 per cent cut to domestic customers was delivered and reductions of one per cent in real terms will be delivered each year up until December 2000. But this is only for domestic customers. Real reductions in prices totalling 22 per cent should be delivered to small and medium size business customers through to the end of December 2000.

In addition to better prices, service levels have also improved in Victoria under that State's electricity privatisation program. The independent Regulator-General in Victoria, Dr Tamblyn, has stated:

Of Victoria's five previously Government owned distribution companies the reliability improved from 510 minutes off supply per annum in 1989-90 to 218 minutes in 1996-97 - a 50 per cent improvement in reliability of power supply to consumers. All private

Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . .