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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2003 Week 5 Hansard (6 May) . . Page.. 1591 ..
MR QUINLAN (continuing):
Mr Speaker, in the long run the best outcome for the community is to reduce the number of incidents that lead to insurance claims. A major emphasis of government policy has been to improve risk management in the community.
In a move that has had a real and direct impact, the government has established a risk advisory web site that has been widely praised by local businesses, the community and the insurance industry. It includes unique world first web technology: the capability for users of the site to identify their activities, rate those against a risk profiler, online, engage online AS4360 compliant risk identification, planning and management tools and finally apply for public liability cover under the group insurance scheme.
The government has secured a group insurance scheme for ACT non-profit community groups. The scheme came into being on 16 December 2002. The ACT is the first jurisdiction, along with NSW, to achieve access to the scheme. The scheme is underwritten and administered by Allianz Australia, QBE Insurance and NRMA Insurance owner Insurance Australia Group. ACT access to this scheme is a direct result and a vindication of the government's reform agenda. I might add that we would have been part of that scheme a lot earlier had it not been a requirement that the scheme be examined and approved by the ACCC before it could be in operation.
The government has supported the web site and the scheme with an extensive, ongoing series of risk and insurance seminars, which the ACT community has embraced. At least 157 participants have registered to attend the next 18 seminars in the current series. The government has also introduced new policies to standardise public liability insurance levels for community groups using ACT government property under the terms of written agreements.
All the government's initiatives are designed to supplement each other in a coordinated fashion, and provide the ACT community with access to affordable insurance in a stable environment.
Mr Speaker, the insurance crisis will not abate quickly, but this government has taken positive steps to reduce the impact and address the core issues of the crisis.
Conclusion
Before I conclude, Mr Speaker, I would like to divert from the speech for a moment and register in this place my gratitude to the people across the government administration, particularly in Treasury, for the work that they did in putting this budget together in most difficult times. The workloads have been horrendous since the bushfires and, no matter what has happened, Treasury has had to be involved.This place and other stakeholders have wanted to know the cost and the situation of the bushfires. Work has been commenced. Let me assure this place that days after the bushfires, registration was made under the national disaster recovery arrangements. There has been continuing work under those arrangements as well as the necessary work to facilitate the work of the recovery taskforce. The work that has been done is of considerable credit to the administration.
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