PIACBulletin16 - Public Interest Advocacy Centre

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UCAP Report Trish Benson, Senior Policy Officer and Jim Wellsmore, Policy Officer Social Responsibility in Utilities A successful conference on the theme of Social Responsibility in Utilities was held by UCAP on 11 September The conference was opened by the NSW Minister for Energy, the Hon Kim Yeadon, who emphasised the strength of the consumer protection arrangements in NSW Participants and speakers were drawn from a range of community and consumer organisations as well as utility providers and representatives of the government We were delighted that delegates included representatives of the recently established Consumers’ Utility Advocacy Centre (CUAC) from Victoria Speakers discussed the legislative framework for providing households with essential services in energy and water and how this can facilitate a greater emphasis on positive social outcomes Several examples were highlighted of the utility businesses’ existing social justice initiatives EnergyAustralia has responded to an approach by a Migrant Resource Centre to vary its policy on waived security deposits for newly arrived refugees Both EnergyAustralia and Country Energy have begun providing capital to community organisations for the creation of “no interest loans” schemes which are directed towards funding purchases of new energy efficient appliances by households The conference was a small step in encouraging the providers to rethink their role as good corporate citizens by supporting initiatives in the communities they serve Consumer Protection Review The NSW Ministry of Energy and Utilities has commenced its scheduled review of the consumer protection arrangements in electricity and gas This aims to take account of the initial experience with retail competition and “customer choice” Many of the changes foreshadowed for the regulations are limited to “tidying up” One major issue being considered is the possible introduction of pre-payment meters for NSW household users of energy PIAC has long since established the conditions under which it would favour households being given the option of taking up this new technology While it is vital that customers have the choice over whether to accept these new meters, we understand also that commercial realities may discourage retailers from offering these new meters Importantly, residential users of electricity continue to enjoy price protection where they choose not to switch to new competitive retail contracts The Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) has introduced minor changes to the price caps it previously determined for these “standard” customers The costs allowed by the standard retailers have risen slightly and some customers will experience price rises higher than the CPI This compares favourably with, for example, South Australia where households are likely to see electricity prices rise by 25% with the commencement of competition In particular, PIAC welcomed the rejection once more of calls for households to face much higher prices as a means to fostering competition between retailers Undergrounding In other news concerning the costs of electricity, PIAC also welcomed the release of the Tribunal’s report to the Minister for Energy on the proposal to underground all electricity cables in metropolitan areas PIAC had argued that the costs of widespread undergrounding would outweigh the benefits for all but a minority of households Further, we had argued that the community ought to consider whether the resources needed to complete such a massive project would better be allocated to areas such as health and education It was pleasing that the Tribunal echoed many of these arguments in its final report The recommendation to the government is that undergrounding be funded by those communities who support and can afford such a scheme at a local level The price of water The current focus of UCAP in relation to water is on prices The Tribunal is conducting its scheduled review of the prices permitted for the four regulated water supply agencies and the Sydney Catchment Authority It is not expected that significant changes to prices will result from the Tribunal’s next determination However, it is becoming clear that a greater effort is required from both the likes of Sydney Water and household users in order that overall water consumption remain within environmentally appropriate limits PIAC has welcomed recent proposed changes to the Operating Licence for Sydney Water, in particular, which will ensure more detailed information in future about the water use behaviour of residential, commercial and industrial consumers # 14 PIAC Bulletin No 16 • December 2002
Working at PIAC – on reflection Mustafa Qadri, PIAC Volunteer With the knowledge that my time at PIAC as a College of Law placement shall soon come to an end, I have good cause to reflect on what has been a thoroughly engaging four months, both professionally and personally The role of the placement is a flexible one Although I was placed in PIAC’s Litigation Division, the majority of tasks that I undertook involved casework I often undertook research on a number of policy projects This included assisting in preparation of a PIAC workshop on International Human Rights Law, an ongoing research proposal on a Federal Bill of Rights, and extensive analysis of the hearings and findings of the Senate Committee on a “certain maritime incident”, the sinking of Siev-X As I soon found, the volume of work and the variety of tasks undertaken greatly depended upon the level of enthusiasm and effort one brought to the position Apart from helping staff with their case or policy work, the College of Law placement is the primary contact point between members of the public and the organisation This in itself afforded me the opportunity to interact with people and deal with issues I would not have been able to do in more traditional, commercial legal environments It also taught me the virtues of being a good listener Quite apart from any assistance that PIAC was able to provide them, people who contacted us often simply wanted someone to understand their situation, and I always enjoyed the challenge of determining the law applicable to the information they relayed to me The people who contacted us were typically those that had been unable to obtain legal information, advice or representation from any other legal service This often meant that the legal issues raised by their matters were complex and challenging Consequently, a typical day at PIAC would consist of casework in a number of different areas of the law, attending to numerous inquiries from the public, either in person or over the phone, and conducting research in relation to one of PIAC’s policy projects Within the litigation department the types of cases that I dealt with included matters relating to: discrimination on the basis of race, age or disability; all areas of refugee law; several indigenous civil cases; as well as some administrative and constitutional law Notwithstanding this, it must be said that, as the placement, I came in contact with most areas of civil law in one shape or form As a recent graduate from the University of Technology, Sydney, I found it refreshing to begin my professional life in a working environment that was always accommodating, that offered a wide array of legal tasks, and that was constantly challenging PIAC staff were always supportive and willing to share their knowledge and expertise I would strongly recommend the College of Law placement position to any law graduate who is interested in learning about public interest law and working with a great bunch of people # Andrea Durbach Director of PIAC and Co-ordinator of PILCH email: adurbach@piacasnau Madeleine Bennison Financial Manager email: mbennison@piacasnau Jane King Centre Co-ordinator email: jking@piacasnau Sandra Stevenson PILCH Solicitor email: sstevenson@piacasnau Fabiola Rofael Administrator email: frofael@piacasnau PIAC Staff Simon Moran Principal Solicitor email: smoran@piacasnau Dr Annemarie Devereux Senior Solicitor email: adevereux@piacasnau Alexis Goodstone Solicitor email: agoodstone@piacasnau Shahzad (Shaz) Rind Solicitor email: srind@piacasnau Bassina Farbenblum Solicitor email: bfarbenblum@piacasnau Melissa Pinzuti Legal Secretary email: mpinzuti@piacasnau Dr Patricia Ranald Principal Policy Officer email: pranald@piacasnau Amanda Cornwall Senior Policy Officer email: acornwall@piacasnau Trish Benson Senior Policy Officer (UCAP) email: tbenson@piacasnau Jim Wellsmore Policy Officer (UCAP) email: jwellsmore@piacasnau Carolyn Grenville Training Co-ordinator email: cgrenville@piacasnau Sarah Mitchell Policy Administrative Officer email: smitchell@piacasnau PIAC Bulletin No 16 • December 2002 15
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Page 3 and 4: Habeas corpus applications seek rel
Page 5 and 6: Peace advocate Neri Javier Colmenar
Page 7 and 8: Patient records go electronic Amand
Page 9 and 10: Stephen Lloyd, barrister, prepared
Page 11 and 12: The Indigenous Justice Project - On
Page 13: Policy Report Dr Patricia Ranald, P

PIACBulletin16 - Public Interest Advocacy Centre

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