Page 1610 - Week 05 - Thursday, 5 May 2016
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MR CORBELL: Of course, the impact of moving to 100 per cent renewable is largely offset by reducing demand and therefore reducing costs for households in their use of electricity. The government has, of course, enacted important energy saving legislation that requires energy retailers to provide energy saving devices and measures into customers’ homes. The benefits that accrue to those households are around $5 per household per week in reduced energy use. When you look at reducing energy use and the very modest transition cost that is required to go to renewable energy generation of $5 to $5.50 per household per week, you can see that this is an entirely affordable, fair and credible policy.
Indeed, if you look at the overall benefits to the ACT economy of the government’s energy efficiency savings scheme, which is on the public record, tabled in this place in debates previously, you can see that the overall benefit to the ACT economy and to households participating in those energy saving schemes is over $100 million ongoing.
That is the policy setting this government has: reducing demand, reducing costs, to help us make a just transition to a clean energy future. There are environmental benefits in doing this and there are economic benefits in doing this. The only ones in this town who do not want to get on board with these important shifts and important transitions are those opposite.
Calvary Heath Care—data integrity
MR SMYTH: Madam Speaker, my question is to the Minister for Health. Minister, an Auditor-General’s report found that at Calvary Health Care there was a manipulation of health reports in order to mislead. After the falsifications at Canberra Hospital in 2012, how could this happen again?
MR CORBELL: It is very disappointing that this occurred, and the Auditor-General has rightly identified a number of issues that need to be addressed, both in terms of the management of Calvary public, which is, of course, the responsibility of Calvary Health Care and its parent company, the Little Company of Mary, and also on the part of ACT Health in terms of our oversight of those contractual arrangements.
I am very pleased to say that since the auditor commenced her investigation—and it is worth reminding the Assembly that the auditor commenced her investigation on a referral from ACT Health itself—significant steps have been taken to strengthen governance and oversight. I am confident that those arrangements are giving us the level of scrutiny, oversight and appropriate governance that is needed.
MADAM SPEAKER: Supplementary question, Mr Smyth.
MR SMYTH: Minister, why did the government not insert control mechanisms to ensure that such manipulations could not occur following the 2012 data doctoring?
MR CORBELL: As I have said in my earlier answer, we have strengthened the governance and oversight arrangements as a result of these matters coming to our attention.
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