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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 12 Hansard (6 December) . . Page.. 3774 ..

The Assembly voted - 

Ayes, 1            Noes, 16

Ms Tucker        Mr Berry    	Mr Moore
                 Ms Carnell    	Mr Osborne
                 Mr Corbell    	Mr Quinlan
                 Mr Cornwell    Mr Rugendyke
                 Mr Hargreaves  Mr Smyth
                 Mr Hird      	Mr Stanhope
                 Mr Humphries  	Mr Stefaniak
                 Mr Kaine    	Mr Wood

Question so resolved in the negative.

TOTALCARE - TRANSFER OF ASSETS, ACTIVITIES AND SERVICES

MR BERRY (4.17): I move:

That this Assembly requires that no transfer of government assets, activities or services to Totalcare occur without prior approval of the Assembly.

Mr Deputy Speaker, the motion speaks for itself. This Assembly requires that no transfer of government assets and activities or services to Totalcare occur without the prior approval of the Assembly. That is a principle that we have adopted in relation to other matters in this place. In fact, we debated the issue of Actew and the amalgamation. So that principle of requiring the prior approval of the Assembly is one that we have embraced in this place before. It would be disingenuous to say otherwise. Mr Deputy Speaker, this is about our concern about assets, services and activities which the government provides in the ACT that in the past have found their way either to privatisation or to some sort of deconstruction, if you like, of services which have not found the confidence of the government.

I want to talk to you about a few things that are of concern. I am concerned that the government will move at some time, or could move, to transfer remaining government services to Totalcare. If you have a look at what has happened to Totalcare with its corporatisation of services, assets and activities which are being transferred to Totalcare, you get a fairly disturbing picture. So far about 150 jobs have been lost. The units, of course, were ACT Fleet, and that went to Macquarie at one stage, and 75 jobs went from building maintenance, on my information. In the second review 45 jobs went in engineering/maintenance.

Of course, there has been a lot of casualisation. Survey, two years ago, was transferred to Totalcare. It now no longer is in existence. After the purchase of some significant low - loaders and heavy equipment, ACT Fleet and Heavy Haulage was sold. Fleet Welders was sold. All of these things were transferred to Totalcare with all sorts of guarantees about their future. There were basic guarantees about no loss of conditions.

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