Page 4265 - Week 12 - Tuesday, 24 October 2017
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three years to determine whether this electricity distribution infrastructure is operating safely and is appropriately maintained. Ultimately this inspection regime is necessary to mitigate the risk of bushfires from faulty or unsafe infrastructure.
This recognises that private landholders should not be responsible for assessing the safety of this high-risk electrical infrastructure on their land, as the utility is better placed to implement an inspection regime and has the technical knowledge to determine whether the infrastructure is safe or poses a risk. These amendments balance the need for safety with the rights of rural landholders to privacy.
The new offence provisions that are inserted by the bill also support the transfer of legislative responsibilities and will add to the compliance options available to the technical regulator. Clause 5 of the bill inserts an offence provision into section 16 of the act for failing to comply with a technical code. This anticipates the creation of a new technical code for vegetation management that will apply to the responsible utility. A technical code can be approved by the minister under the existing section 14 of the act and is a disallowable instrument.
It is anticipated that the code will be prepared once the bill passes the Assembly and will become effective at the same time as the legislative amendments commence. The code will incorporate parts of the initial policy decision relating to bushfire mitigation measures as well as standards for tree pruning work that are of a technical nature that are not suitable for inclusion in the bill.
The new strict liability offence for failing to comply with a technical code incurs a maximum penalty of 30 penalty units. This is a strengthening of the enforcement options available to the technical regulator under the act and provides an offence for minor contraventions of technical codes. It is anticipated that it will compel the utility to comply with the code and may apply to such activities as not pruning a street tree in accordance with a prescribed method in the code.
I anticipate that the new code will balance the need for compliance with existing clearances to protect public safety and the need to pursue environmental considerations such as the sympathetic pruning of street trees. To find the right balance, the development of the code will require consultation with both the responsible utility and the Conservator of Flora and Fauna, amongst other community interest groups and key stakeholders. To ensure the appropriate protection of trees during vegetation clearance works, I will make sure that the code contains a requirement for the utility to submit a works plan, outlining their intended upcoming clearance work and bushfire management activities, to the conservator for approval.
The amendments I have mentioned, along with the forthcoming technical code, will increase public safety through mitigating bushfire risk caused by electrical infrastructure. Environmental safeguards are contained in the new provisions and will be built into the forthcoming technical code, as the ACT community appreciates its unique environment and values its protection, whilst also mitigating the risks posed by bushfires.
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