Page 2240 - Week 06 - Thursday, 6 June 2019
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Executive remuneration at Icon is one such example. How can it be that the head of Icon Water earns double the salary of the head of the ACT public service? How can it be that the head of Icon Water earns well more than double the salary of the head of Canberra Hospital? The latest annual report of Icon states that the chief financial officer earns about $100,000 a year more than the head of treasury. The chief information officer earns around $100,000 a year more than the head of Shared Services in the ACT.
What is more, most of the IT, the systems, the billing and the payroll have been outsourced. It begs the question: what are we getting for the money? Salaries at Icon Water of more than $700,000, more than $400,000, more than $300,000 are not keeping pace with community standards. I have no ill will for the people who seek these jobs. Who would not want that salary? My problem is with the Labor government that facilitates it. Corporate structures often work best in a competitive environment. There is no competition for water in the ACT.
We trust departments and public servants to run our hospitals. We trust them to run our schools, our bus system, our public housing, our roads, our care and protection system, our IT services, our critical infrastructure, our fire services and our police. What is the rationale for not trusting departments with our water assets? Do you think that our public servants are capable of this?
Whilst I accept the good intentions, and indeed successes, of Actew in the past, the time has come for us to have a fresh look at the best structure and governance for Icon Water. For example, is it time for us to simply establish a water directorate or a simple water authority? Is it time to review how the board and the executive operate and how they report to the public? Do we need to de-corporatise Icon Water? Do we need to bring it back in house?
The complex structure of Icon Water probably means that shell companies would be required to continue the government ownership of Evoenergy and ActewAGL. Ensuring that Icon’s EBAs and employee entitlements were rolled into the new arrangements would be essential. Unpicking the financial mess, ending the largesse and shedding light on the outrageous $300 million shared services deal is required. We need to have a conversation about it.
Canberrans are smart; Canberrans are innovative; Canberrans are compassionate. Here in the ACT, we are amongst the most generous when it comes to charities. We are amongst the highest plasma donors in Australia, and we have the second highest number of organ donors. We have Summernats and the amazing National Zoo and Aquarium. We have amazing beers and wines. We have the Canberra Glassworks. We have expert tradespeople and craftsmen. We have businesses leading the world. We have universities kicking goals. We have health professionals undertaking extraordinary operations. We have teachers leading the nation.
The ACT is also the best in the country when it comes to volunteering. Volunteering contributes $1.5 billion to our economy. There is much to celebrate in Canberra. We have much to be grateful for and we have much to look forward to.
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