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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2003 Week 10 Hansard (25 September) . . Page.. 3792 ..

Telstra followed procedures and sent a fax of the report to Canberra Urban Parks and Places (CUPP), rather than Totalcare Property Services or ACTEW AGL, advising of the situation.

(2) It is not the responsibility of Canberra Connect to ensure that the complaint is actioned. Canberra Connect is responsible for ensuring the call is logged and then re-directed to the appropriate service provider. It is then the responsibility of the service provider to ensure the work is carried out.

(3) Canberra Connect is supplied with set processes and procedures from each agency. If processes or procedures change, then agencies will notify Canberra Connect. Canberra Connect will then advise Telstra when changes to work processes have occurred for after hours service.

(4) Canberra Connect staff are well briefed on water issues, and ensure that all matters in relation to water usage are given a high priority.

(5) I am advised that under the Utilities (Water Restrictions) Regulations 2002, authorised persons may enter any part of a premises if the authorised person believes on reasonable grounds that water has been used, or is being used in contravention of a water restriction. In this case there was no contravention of the water restrictions scheme. Under the restrictions scheme, ovals and sports fields are not limited to the hours and days on which they can operate sprinkler systems but are required to show a reduction in water use as required by the stage of restrictions that are in place at that time.

(6) ACTEW has advised that it has no record of receiving a report from Canberra Connect. However, I am advised that on Monday 28 July 2003 an anonymous telephone call about a sprinkler on the Canberra College oval was received by the Manager of the ACTEW Drought Management Taskforce. This matter was immediately referred to the Department of Urban Services. I understand that the complaint was then passed to the Canberra College.

(7) ActewAGL are operators of the after hours and emergency call centre for utility services and has an automated message system to enable the filtering of customer calls. The system is used for known faults to advise customers in affected areas that ActewAGL is aware of a problem or fault and is attending to it. ActewAGL has found this method the most efficient way of advising customers of large area problems. ActewAGL has advised that the message recording on Monday 29 July 2003 was inadvertently not reviewed. I am advised that changes to work procedures should ensure messages are checked each morning at the change of shift.

(8) The call was redirected to Canberra Connect as responsibility for the watering and maintenance of ovals and sporting fields rests with the relevant Government agency, not ACTEW or ActewAGL.

(9) The Department of Education, Youth & Family Services after hours contact officer was not contacted about the matter on 27 July 2003. Inter-agency coordination arrangements have been stressed to ensure this does not re-occur and that water wastage matters are given priority.

The janitor, who resides on site at Canberra College (Weston Campus), on returning to his residence on Sunday evening 27 July 2003 and becoming aware of the problem immediately took action to turn off the sprinklers and reported the problem to the department's irrigation maintenance contractor. The janitor was able to completely turn

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