Mr STIRLING - 1999-06-02
I refer to the confidential correspondence sent to the minister for Power and Water Authority by Mr Gardner, particularly to page 3, which states, if certain Power and Water Authority clients are lost, and I quote: ‘to maintain the status quo would require an increase of 35% in domestic tariffs’. I ask the minister how on earth did they let this possibility ever arise?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, the possibility arises because of the National Competition Policy and the ACCC, which says that you have to have a contestable market in the Territory, and right across Australia. That’s how the situation arises. What am I to do, go and assassinate Mr Fells? Some would say ‘yes’. I don’t have to have a contestable market?
Ms Martin: No.
Mr COULTER: Oh, well, that’s good advice. That’s good advice because we’ve spent many millions of dollars trying to find that out ...
Ms Martin interjecting.
Mr COULTER: ... and I could have just come over and asked you.
Can I first of all make a small correction to what I said about fees. None were introduced in the budget. The ancillary charges, there was an amount, I think, of around $700 000. But certainly not for the street lighting. And the $5m that has been tabled here in the Cabinet document, that has been placed in front of me here today. They were for ancillary charges. A lot of those charges haven’t been increased, I think. Either they weren’t being charged or hadn’t been increased for over 5 years.
The facts are that if we were to lose, for example, the hospital, Casuarina Square, Woolworths and a couple of hotels, the load demand would drop off significantly. It’s been no secret that there has been some cross-subsidisation from the industry tariff to support the domestic tariff in the Northern Territory.
All that paper simply tells you is if an independent power producer were to come into the Northern Territory, and take out 2 or 3 of those customers, then the amount of revenue available to the Power and Water Authority would be drastically reduced. In fact, as much as 35%, as it says in that paper.
That’s what all the argument has been about. I don’t understand that, except you’ve now got supporting documents, and I’m impressed that you’ve been able to get hold of Cabinet documents etc. But other than that, and the fact that that Cabinet document was leaked 3 or 4 months ago, and it has taken you a while to bring it in here, there is nothing new in what you’re saying here today. It just makes sense that if ...
Mr Bailey: You’ve managed over a stuff-up for the last 5 years.
Mr COULTER: This is what the restructure is all about. I’m not sure if that is a just criticism from the honourable member for Wanguri. But there has been and I have been …
Ms Martin interjecting.
Mr COULTER: No, no. There has been and I have been saying …
Mr Bailey interjecting.
Mr COULTER: No, no, I have been saying for some time that whilst the ACCC and the National Competition Council policies are very good for monopolies that have operated with historical infrastructure in the south-eastern corner of Australia, they bear very little help for infrastructure such as in the Northern Territory where we’ve just gone out and spent a lot of money on infrastructure, $1,300m to allow an open market. That is what was wrong with the Everingham proposal. He wanted not only these major customers before we had a contestable market - just what is contestable and what isn’t - but he also wanted the domestic market. Nowhere in Australia, even in Victoria where they’ve had independent power producers now for some time, is the domestic market contestable. So, if the penny’s just dropped on you that if we were to lose a range of these big consumers that we would have a serious cash flow problem, then I don’t know where you’ve been for 6 months, but that’s been the argument.
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, the possibility arises because of the National Competition Policy and the ACCC, which says that you have to have a contestable market in the Territory, and right across Australia. That’s how the situation arises. What am I to do, go and assassinate Mr Fells? Some would say ‘yes’. I don’t have to have a contestable market?
Ms Martin: No.
Mr COULTER: Oh, well, that’s good advice. That’s good advice because we’ve spent many millions of dollars trying to find that out ...
Ms Martin interjecting.
Mr COULTER: ... and I could have just come over and asked you.
Can I first of all make a small correction to what I said about fees. None were introduced in the budget. The ancillary charges, there was an amount, I think, of around $700 000. But certainly not for the street lighting. And the $5m that has been tabled here in the Cabinet document, that has been placed in front of me here today. They were for ancillary charges. A lot of those charges haven’t been increased, I think. Either they weren’t being charged or hadn’t been increased for over 5 years.
The facts are that if we were to lose, for example, the hospital, Casuarina Square, Woolworths and a couple of hotels, the load demand would drop off significantly. It’s been no secret that there has been some cross-subsidisation from the industry tariff to support the domestic tariff in the Northern Territory.
All that paper simply tells you is if an independent power producer were to come into the Northern Territory, and take out 2 or 3 of those customers, then the amount of revenue available to the Power and Water Authority would be drastically reduced. In fact, as much as 35%, as it says in that paper.
That’s what all the argument has been about. I don’t understand that, except you’ve now got supporting documents, and I’m impressed that you’ve been able to get hold of Cabinet documents etc. But other than that, and the fact that that Cabinet document was leaked 3 or 4 months ago, and it has taken you a while to bring it in here, there is nothing new in what you’re saying here today. It just makes sense that if ...
Mr Bailey: You’ve managed over a stuff-up for the last 5 years.
Mr COULTER: This is what the restructure is all about. I’m not sure if that is a just criticism from the honourable member for Wanguri. But there has been and I have been …
Ms Martin interjecting.
Mr COULTER: No, no. There has been and I have been saying …
Mr Bailey interjecting.
Mr COULTER: No, no, I have been saying for some time that whilst the ACCC and the National Competition Council policies are very good for monopolies that have operated with historical infrastructure in the south-eastern corner of Australia, they bear very little help for infrastructure such as in the Northern Territory where we’ve just gone out and spent a lot of money on infrastructure, $1,300m to allow an open market. That is what was wrong with the Everingham proposal. He wanted not only these major customers before we had a contestable market - just what is contestable and what isn’t - but he also wanted the domestic market. Nowhere in Australia, even in Victoria where they’ve had independent power producers now for some time, is the domestic market contestable. So, if the penny’s just dropped on you that if we were to lose a range of these big consumers that we would have a serious cash flow problem, then I don’t know where you’ve been for 6 months, but that’s been the argument.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016