Page 1703 - Week 05 - Tuesday, 3 May 2011
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MR SPEAKER: Mr Corbell, that is enough. Thank you.
MR SMYTH: Supplementary, Mr Speaker.
MR SPEAKER: Yes, Mr Smyth.
MR SMYTH: Minister, what do you have to say to families that are now paying 200 per cent more for their water as a result of your government’s policies?
MR CORBELL: I would say to those Canberrans two things. The first is that they want and they need long-term water security for their children and their children’s children. They need to know that this city will have secure water supply for the next 100 years. They need that security of investment. Without it, there can be no jobs, there can be no economic activity and there can be no amenity in this city, an inland city in the driest continent on the planet. That is the first thing I would say.
The second thing I would say is that shortly the Treasurer will outline a very important range of measures that are designed to assist those most vulnerable in our community dealing with these pressures, because as a Labor government we have always taken the view that we will invest in protecting those who are vulnerable, protecting those who are on low incomes, protecting those who struggle to make ends meet, in a targeted and deliberate way which delivers equity, fairness and justice on these issues. That is what this Labor government will continue to do.
Let me give you an example. In the last 12 months we have invested over $1 million on a program that has brought down the cost of utilities for low income households in the order of $200 to $400 per household per year, and that is by making an investment that gives them water efficient appliances, that gives them energy efficient appliances, that improves the retrofitting of insulation and other measures in their household, and which has been targeted not just at public housing but at those in private rental—those people who are most vulnerable and most difficult to assist. We have done that by providing them with payments and assistance so that they get an energy efficient fridge, so that they get a water efficient washing machine. These have meant real savings for those households and it is the type of approach this government will continue to take.
MR HARGREAVES: A supplementary.
MR SPEAKER: Yes, Mr Hargreaves.
MR HARGREAVES: Thanks very much, Mr Speaker. Minister, in the context of Mr Smyth’s assertion that the prices have gone up by 200 per cent over a period, could you please tell us where the ICRC fits into all of this?
MR CORBELL: Of course, the opposition are quite happy to ignore the fact that pricing paths are determined by an independent regulator at arm’s length from government. The pricing regulator has legislated statutory obligations to have regard—
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