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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1998 Week 11 Hansard (9 December) . . Page.. 3358 ..

MS CARNELL: Mr Speaker, the most appropriate course would be to sell earlier rather than later. The reason for that, quite clearly, is that right now, as the Auditor-General says and other people have said, there is obvious interest in the market as there are opportunity costs in getting into the market now. I have to tell you that Mr Carr was quoted in, I think, the Daily Telegraph only a couple of weeks ago as saying that selling their electricity entities had not been taken off his agenda. The reasons for that are exactly the same as the things we are talking about now.

Mr Quinlan himself accepts that electricity retailing is a risky business. Other States are saying the same thing. New South Wales, South Australia and all of the others will get out of electricity businesses generally, simply because the levels of risk are too high for State governments. South Australia, having an upper house that is, I suppose, hung, may have chosen not to go ahead. It is interesting that their electricity retailer lost $8.6m last year. What a great win that was for South Australia! They get to keep something that is losing money. It is up to them to make decisions for South Australia. I do not think that that is a very wise decision. Certainly, it is not one that I would suggest should happen here.

Mr Corbell made comments about the environment and the price. He continues to restate all the things that he has said before in this place and been shown to be incorrect on. What has happened in the market that has been privatised in Australia? The outages have actually decreased. We have shown all the figures. Mr Corbell continues to quote figures that he knows are wrong. What has happened with prices? The prices have come down; there is no doubt about that.

Mr Corbell: Unplanned outages have gone up.

MR SPEAKER: Order!

MS CARNELL: The level of services has improved, the level of outages has gone down and the price has reduced.

Mr Corbell: Unplanned outages have gone up in Victoria.

MR SPEAKER: I warn you, Mr Corbell.

MS CARNELL: Mr Speaker, if that is the case, what was Mr Corbell's question even about? With regard to franchises generally on water, and I assume that that is the other part of Mr Corbell's question - - -

Mr Stanhope: Is this a note from a local economist?

MS CARNELL: No, Mr Speaker, there are no local economists here. Mr Speaker, with regard to the proposed sale of ACTEW and the franchising of the water assets, as members of the Assembly know, we have already tabled a statement of regulatory intent. We have already made it clear that the statement of regulatory intent will be

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