The Territory Owned Corporations Amendment Bill Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 seeks to remove CanDeliver from Schedule 1 of the TOC Act 1990.

Back on 9 December 1999 the Legislative Assembly heard how changed market conditions had reduced the need for the Government to own and operate a company like CanDeliver and agreed to the disposal of the main undertakings of the company.

The disposal of CanDeliver's main undertakings, through the sale of its contracts is nearing completion and the Government will soon be in a position to appoint a liquidator to manage the final stages of this process.

Prior to the appointment of the liquidator, it will be necessary to remove CanDeliver from Schedule 1 of the TOC Act 1990.

The Government does not intend to take this step until after the disposal of CanDeliver's contracts and the company effectively becomes an empty shell.

The reason CanDeliver needs to be removed from the TOC Act prior to the appointment of a liquidator is due to inconsistencies between the Commonwealth Corporations Law and provisions within the TOC Act.

For example, upon the appointment of a liquidator, all powers of directors cease. The TOC Act requires that all TOCs maintain a certain number of directors at all times. In such circumstances it is unlikely that CanDeliver will be able to comply with the TOC Act.

In addition, the TOC Act requires a TOC to prepare a Statement of Corporate Intent every year. Acknowledging the fact that CanDeliver will not be around for the next three years, preparing a Statement of Corporate Intent would be pointless and a waste of limited resources.

This is not an attempt by the Government to subvert the role of the Assembly in examining the winding up of CanDeliver. Indeed, CanDeliver will be all but an empty corporate shell by the time this Bill is debated.

The Bill before us is simply one of the final steps in a process that was started in this Assembly back in December last year.