Page 4163 - Week 10 - Tuesday, 21 September 2010
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Ms Gallagher: Not again.
MR SMYTH: It is obviously too much for the Treasurer. Mr Speaker, one of the great pleasures of discussing third-party insurance is the briefing that you get. If members remember the last time we had this discussion, we were talking about the Beatles and Mr McDonald’s haircut in the 60s, when he had a full head of hair and enjoyed a bit of a dance to Beatles music.
The briefing this time, of course, started with Tom confessing. He said, “I have to confess, Mr Smyth.” I always like it when public servants come into my office and confess. What he did confess was that they had been progressing what they were doing. With that in mind, we will be supporting the bill. I do thank the Treasurer for arranging the briefing on the bill and, indeed, the progress on achieving increased competition in the third-party insurance market in the ACT.
Mr Speaker, this bill essentially deals with four matters. The first and second matters relate to the governance of the third-party regime in the ACT. The new section 5A sets out objectives of the third-party regime. A new section 14 formally establishes the position of the regulator for the regime. The new section 14A sets out the functions of the regulator of the third-party insurance regime.
These provisions appear reasonable. It was noted in our briefing that the framing of these objectives and functions has drawn on the practice, the legislation that is in place in New South Wales and Queensland, and the experience that has been gained already in the ACT following the enactment of third-party legislation a couple of years ago. It is particularly pleasing to learn that some of the key intentions of the new third-party regime in the ACT, such as enhancing the rehabilitation of people who have been injured and reducing the proportion of costs being absorbed by legal matters, are being achieved.
The third matter in the bill concerns the promulgation of information about the third-party regime. In particular, it will enable the regulator to publish the average premium risk for passenger vehicles. This information, while not contravening commercial confidential issues, will provide the community with a greater insight into how the scheme is performing in the ACT and what costs are being incurred as a result of claims being finalised.
Mr Speaker, the fourth matter concerns the Nominal Defendant. I am pleased to see that this bill provides for the preparation of appropriate accounts for the Nominal Defendant, particularly relating to the Nominal Defendant fund. I am also pleased that the bill requires an annual audit of the accounts of the Nominal Defendant.
In this regard, however, I would note some quite serious concerns about the way in which the accounts of the Nominal Defendant have been dealt with in recent times. These concerns are alluded to in the annual report for the ACT Insurance Authority for 2008-09. Unfortunately, there is not a full explanation either in the annual report or in any other document that I can find of what happened with the management of the Nominal Defendant. I think this situation is unacceptable, as it involves
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