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(Chair) April 2008 THIRTY-SEVENTH PARLIAMENT REPORT 13 REPORT OF THE STANDING COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS IN RELATION TO A PETITION ON CONSUMER UTILITY HARDSHIP IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA Presented by Hon Sheila Mills MLC (Chair) April 2008 STANDING COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS Date first appointed: 17 August 2005 Terms of Reference: The following is an extract from Schedule 1 of the Legislative Council Standing Orders: “1. Environment and Public Affairs Committee 1.1 An Environment and Public Affairs Committee is established. 1.2 The Committee consists of 5 members. 1.3 The functions of the Committee are to inquire into and report on - (a) any public or private policy, practice, scheme, arrangement, or project whose implementation, or intended implementation, within the limits of the State is affecting, or may affect, the environment; (b) any bill referred by the House; and (c) petitions. 1.4 The Committee, where relevant and appropriate, is to assess the merit of matters or issues arising from an inquiry in accordance with the principles of ecologically sustainable development and the minimisation of harm to the environment. 1.5 The Committee may refer a petition to another committee where the subject matter of the petition is within the competence of that committee. 1.6 In this order “environment” has the meaning assigned to it under section 3(1), (2) of the Environmental Protection Act 1986.” Members as at the time of this inquiry: Hon Sheila Mills MLC (Chair) Hon Paul Llewellyn MLC (from 14 November 2007) Hon Bruce Donaldson MLC Hon Robyn McSweeney MLC (Deputy Chairman) Hon Kate Doust MLC Hon Louise Pratt MLC (Chair) (until 29 October 2007) Staff as at the time of this inquiry: Mark Warner, Committee Clerk Dr Vincent Cusack, Advisory Officer (until 14 November 2007) (General) Linda Omar, Committee Clerk (from 29 October 2007) Address: Parliament House, Perth WA 6000, Telephone (08) 9222 7222 [email protected] Website: http://www.parliament.wa.gov.au ISBN 1 921243 56 2 CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AND FINDINGS .........................................................................I EXECUTIVE SUMMARY......................................................................................................... I Committee Findings....................................................................................................ii Finding 1 .....................................................................................................................ii Finding 2 .....................................................................................................................ii Finding 3 .....................................................................................................................ii Finding 4 .....................................................................................................................ii REPORT.................................................................................................................................... 1 1 REFERENCE AND PROCEDURE ..................................................................................... 1 Evidence and Reports.......................................................................................... 2 2 VERIFIABLE STATISTICS, POVERTY MEASUREMENTS AND FINANCIAL HARDSHIP .... 3 3 ISSUES RAISED BY THE PRINCIPAL PETITIONER AND TABLING MEMBER.................... 4 4 MINISTERIAL RESPONSES TO THE PETITION................................................................ 8 Committee Findings.................................................................................................. 10 Finding 1 ................................................................................................................... 10 5 REFORM AND REGULATORY FRAMEWORK IN WA.................................................... 11 6 EVIDENCE FROM THE MAIN UTILITIES IN WA .......................................................... 14 Committee findings................................................................................................... 15 Finding 2 ................................................................................................................... 15 Committee Findings.................................................................................................. 22 Finding 3 ................................................................................................................... 22 7 EVIDENCE FROM THE ENERGY OMBUDSMAN............................................................ 22 Committee Findings.................................................................................................. 25 Finding 4 ................................................................................................................... 25 8 INTERSTATE COMPARISONS IN AUSTRALIA .............................................................. 27 Victoria ..................................................................................................................... 28 NSW.......................................................................................................................... 32 9 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................. 35 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AND FINDINGS FOR THE REPORT OF THE STANDING COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS IN RELATION TO A PETITION ON CONSUMER UTILITY HARDSHIP IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1 On 18 October 2006 the Standing Committee on Environment and Public Affairs (Committee) resolved to report separately on its inquiries into petition number 22 regarding consumer utility hardship. 2 The inquiries into this petition were conducted intermittingly over a period of time because of the Committee’s various commitments, and different avenues of inquiry, and because of the interrelated reviews and inquiries referred to below. 3 During the course of its inquiries the Committee became aware that the Economic Regulation Authority (Authority) was conducting a review of the Code of Conduct for the Supply of Electricity to Small Use Customers.1 4 The Committee noted that the State Government established a Ministerial inquiry into the affordability of bottled liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in Western Australia (WA) on 13 July 2006. Hon Francis Logan MLA, Minister for Energy, tabled the report of that inquiry in Parliament on 30 August 2007.2 5 The Committee noted that the Government had established an Interagency Working Group3 to examine and report to Government on ways in which government agencies, government-owned utilities, and welfare agencies can improve the delivery and coordination of essential utilities services to the community’s most disadvantaged individuals and families4 (see paragraph 4.5 on page 9 below). 6 The Committee noted that the Interagency Working Group released an issues paper on utility hardship in December 2007 for broad public consultation. 1 Proclamation, Government Gazette, No 4, Perth, 8 January 2008, pp43–76. 2 Report to the Minister for Energy, Hon Francis Logan, MLA, Inquiry into the Affordability of Bottled Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) for Household Use in Western Australia, June 2007. http://www.energy.wa.gov.au/2/3225/64/lpg_inquiry.pm (viewed on 10 March 2008). 3 Has also been referred to as the Government Utilities Essential Service Hardship Roundtable. 4 http://www.energy.wa.gov.au/2/3243/64/utility_hardshi.pm (viewed on 10 March 2008). G:\DATA\EV\EVrp\ev.022.080410.rpf.013.xx.a.doc i Environment and Public Affairs Committee 7 The Committee was particularly mindful of the need to avoid duplicating the work of the Interagency Working Group. 8 On 20 February 2008, the Committee resolved to prepare and table a report to progress petition number 22, and to provide input into the Interagency Working Group’s final report. 9 The Committee finalised this petition on 2 April 2008. Committee Findings Finding 1 Page 10 The Committee believes that the tabling of the petition in the Legislative Council, raised awareness within Government of Consumer Utility Hardship as an issue requiring a concerted policy response, and that the Committees inquiries into the petition helped influence the Minister for Energy’s decision to establish the Interagency Working Group. Finding 2 Page 15 The Committee finds that restricting water supply does amount to an inconvenience to the consumer but that it appears to be an effective method for ensuring dialogue commences between the consumer and the Water Corporation. The Committee noted that a similar capacity for restricting supply is not readily available to the electricity and gas utilities. Finding 3 Page 22 The Committee believes that the utilities should be encouraged to maintain financial hardship and disconnections data to the same uniform standard. The Committee believes that maintaining such data should not be onerous or time consuming. Finding 4 Page 25 The Committee believes that the recent practice of the Economic Regulation Authority to maintain and record disconnection rates for WA is an important initiative that will identify higher or lower trends in disconnection rates. The Committee believes that the continued publication of annual data (statistics) should provide incentives for all stakeholders to keep the number of disconnections as low as is reasonably practical. ii G:\DATA\EV\EVrp\ev.022.080410.rpf.013.xx.a.doc REPORT OF THE STANDING COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS IN RELATION TO A PETITION ON CONSUMER UTILITY
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