Page 850 - Week 03 - Thursday, 10 March 2005
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
appliances, such as toilets, showerheads and washing machines. Under the scheme, the sale of WELS products without appropriate registration and labelling will become an offence.
With regard to the powers of entry and the right to privacy, the bill, as drafted, is consistent in approach and practice with other ACT legislation that deals with these types of provisions. The scheme has been designed to allow additional products to be added over time to increase its coverage and effectiveness. Possible products for later inclusion include domestic irrigation systems, evaporative cooling units, cooling towers and water heaters.
Implementation of this scheme is expected by July 2005, depending on other jurisdictions introducing and passing their legislation within that time. The regulator, who is the secretary to the commonwealth Department of Environment and Heritage, will administer the scheme, with advice on policy and administration from a national committee comprising representatives of each of the states and territories.
A new national WELS web site is being established, housing all information on the program, similar to the energy labelling and energy rating web site for electrical appliances, including procedures, guidelines, promotional material and a database of products. Product registration is to be primarily done online, although manual registration will also be possible via written correspondence with the regulator. A corresponding functionality will be incorporated into the water labelling portal, minimising industry’s administrative burden.
Testing and compliance monitoring will be undertaken on a regular basis, with the regulator able to form cooperative inspection arrangements with state and territory environment protection agencies and fair trading departments, plumbing regulators, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission or the National Appliance and Equipment Energy Efficiency Committee enforcement agencies, as may be appropriate.
Promotion of the WELS program will be undertaken by the regulator in cooperation with the national committee and other key stakeholders through strategic public education and promotional activities. The ACT’s participation in WELS is one of the recommendations in the government’s think water, act water strategy and is an illustration, again, of this government’s commitment to ensuring that our valuable water resources are used as efficiently as possible.
I understand that other members of the Assembly are essentially supportive of the bill. Certainly, Mrs Dunne has indicated the opposition’s support, as has Dr Foskey, although Mrs Dunne has indicated that she does have an issue in relation to one particular provision. I confess that I was not aware personally, although I understand my office has been involved, of Mrs Dunne’s concern about the impact and effect of clause 57.
Clause 57 goes to vesting in the regulator, who, as I just indicated, is the secretary to a commonwealth department, a power to dispose of certain material if the owner of that evidential material cannot be identified. I must say that I cannot quite imagine in what circumstance the owner could not be identified. I am a little bit intrigued as to exactly why the provision is necessary or what circumstances would arise whereby the regulator
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .