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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 3 Hansard (9 March) . . Page.. 830 ..

MR HIRD (continuing):

I turn to regional benefits. Many members would know of my interest in regional benefits. As has been mentioned, the ACT and local region will benefit from the fact that the partnership will enable the future viability of the ACT's largest corporation, ACTEW. The ACT and region have already benefited from significant investment made by ACTEW and AGL in establishing network infrastructure and their substantial customer base. This is a strong commitment to the local region.

In addition, as part of the partnership proposal, AGL has been keen to make further commitments to the ACT and the local region through construction of a gas-fired electricity generation plant which will provide employment as well as supplement the local region's energy requirements and transferring a customer call centre and an asset management business to the ACT, which will mean further employment.

The partnership will also allow exciting opportunities for innovative projects along the lines of TransACT, CRANOS and now the gas-fired electricity generation plant to occur - which ACTEW may not have been able to pursue on its own - including waste water and water recycling projects. This is good news for the region and citizens of the ACT.

Other opportunities include energy conservation projects, which I know Ms Tucker would be interested in; smart metering projects for gas, electricity and water consumption; and environmental and greenhouse gas reduction projects, which I know Ms Tucker would be interested in. She does not even interject and pat the Government on the back. Alternative energy supplies include green power projects, such as wind and methane. Overall, the AGL/ACTEW partnership proposal provides substantial economic and employment benefits to the ACT and the local region.

In summary, the partnership between ACTEW and AGL will provide the following substantial benefits for ACTEW, its staff, its customers, the local ACT community and the local region. It will improve ACTEW's commercial viability through creating a larger, stronger utility which will achieve economies of scale and remain competitive in the energy market. By combining their operations, ACTEW and AGL will be better able to manage the risks of energy trading in the new competitive environment for energy suppliers.

The Territory and the ACT community will continue to own water and sewerage network assets and will continue to play an important role in the use of electricity infrastructure assets. The Territory will benefit from the partnership being based and operated within the ACT. Customers will be the big winners through having a one-stop shop for electricity, gas, water and sewerage supply services, and should expect lower prices for energy services.

Regional development opportunities via the gas-fired generator mean that we will not have to depend on anyone else under this proposal. We will not have to rely on anyone else under this proposal. Jobs will be created as a result of this proposal. It has a sound basis to work from, and one can only compliment both ACTEW and AGL. In this gas-fired generation plant, the transfer of AGL businesses to the ACT will increase. That is just the tip of the iceberg. There will be greater opportunities for an innovative project in the energy, waste and water fields.

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