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

Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 3 Hansard (9 March) . . Page.. 749 ..

Mr Humphries: Yes.

MR WOOD: I think in the future it will not happen. As this joint venture proceeds, I would suspect it will not happen.

Mr Humphries: Why do you say that, Mr Wood?

MR WOOD: I do not have confidence about the path that these joint venture go down.

Mr Moore: I have approached AGL on behalf of constituents and got an excellent response.

MR WOOD: I notice Mr Moore is interjecting. Surprise, surprise! These informal and useful arrangements are a key issue with consumers. I can go back some years to when I was Minister for the Environment. I was not quite so happy in those days with ACTEW because we had a persistent run of bypasses, overflows, at the sewage treatment works. But by working within the Government with a government utility we were able to come to solutions. That was not to do with quality of water as I see it spelt out in the Utilities Bill. Terry Connolly and I worked with the heads of those agencies to get a solution that is now in place. We have not had any more of those bypasses. Is this going to be a fact in the future? If this Bill goes through, I will certainly endeavour to contact AGL and seek assurances that there are numbers I can ring - I have some contacts with ACTEW - to seek assistance for consumers in the ACT. (Extension of time granted) They need that. It is a very important issue for them.

In the past there has been a very good relationship. I am sure it has not just been between me and ACTEW but between other members and ACTEW as well. We need the ability to continue that beyond what is going to happen with the CSOs and the Essential Services Consumer Council. I am disappointed that the attitude taken by the Government on all aspects of this thus far seem to mirror that of a former much discredited Queensland Premier whose stock answer to anything was: "Don't you worry about that". That seems to me to be the response from the people on the other side of the house. It is not in the interests of our consumers.

MR CORBELL (12.09): Mr Speaker, the decision we are being asked to make here today on the ACTEW/AGL joint venture means that there is no turning back. The decision the Government is asking us to make today means that the ACT community will lose control of its most valuable built asset. The ACT community will also be betrayed if this Assembly agrees today to allow the ACTEW/AGL venture to proceed. Quite simply, we are stepping down the path to privatisation. It will be inevitable. The people of Canberra, who so clearly demonstrated last year their wish to keep ACTEW under our own control and ownership, will have been ignored.

The attitude adopted to date by ACTEW, AGL and the Government in relation to this joint venture proposal does not bode well for the ability of the ACT community to control the future destiny of this our largest built asset. It saddens me to say, but

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