Page 981 - Week 06 - Wednesday, 26 July 1989
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should be most concerned. It is not a question of what profits go to ACTEW or the gas people; it is really a question that in the long run, when things cost more, those costs are turned back over to the people of Canberra.
Those are the issues at which I think we really need to look, and look at carefully, when we are considering this matter of public importance. I urge the Government to bring this legislation to the house as quickly as is practicable.
MRS NOLAN (3.42): The fact is, it seems to me, that we are paying more for gas than the people of New South Wales. The essential reason why we are paying more obviously goes back to 1981 when an agreement was signed which determined the financial arrangement under which the Pipeline Authority, a Commonwealth body, would supply gas to Canberra. The construction of the Dalton-Canberra pipeline did not form part of the original haulage agreement between the authority and AGL. The pipeline is therefore not included in the original New South Wales distribution system, and the funding arrangement provides for the annual recovery of all costs and expenses plus a 6 per cent profit margin in respect of gases carried to Canberra.
This agreement, unless it is changed, will last to the year 2005, 16 years away. Next year, AGL will pay $10.7m to the Pipeline Authority for the gas it has ordered. This gas will be delivered to AGL and distributed from the Watson service link. The equivalent amount of gas supplied to a New South Wales gas company, such as the Goulburn gas company or the Wagga gas company, would be $8.4m. In other words, Canberra consumers are paying $2.3m more for their gas than people in New South Wales. The difference, of course, is that under the agreement we pay for the capital costs of the pipeline installed between Dalton, near Yass, and Canberra. It could rightly be said that we are being unfairly treated by the Pipeline Authority.
The Pipeline Authority Act 1973 was introduced for the purpose of establishing an authority with adequate powers to construct and operate a major public utility having the responsibility for making one of Australia's natural resources available to the Australian people. If we are to achieve price equalisation with New South Wales - that is, if we are to pay the same prices for the same services as those delivered in New South Wales - we need to seek a renegotiation of the agreement. This could be achieved by government-to-government negotiations involving the ACT and the Federal governments. This Government should give an undertaking that it will seek negotiations with the Federal Government to obtain a better deal for Canberra - a better deal for the 22,000 consumers who use gas in this city.
It is a mistake for consumers to blame AGL for the fact that we pay more for our gas than consumers in New South Wales. It is even a mistake to blame those who drew up the original agreement that was signed in 1981. AGL has sought
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