❓ The Premier outlines key insurance issues for discussion at the national summit, focusing on Commonwealth support for state-level reforms, particularly regarding the Trade Practices Act and ACCC monitoring of insurance premiums.
AnsweredQoN 576Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
Can the Premier outline the key issues that he will be discussing at tomorrow’s national ministerial summit on insurance issues? Dr G.I. GALLOP
AnswerView source ↗
I can talk about the issues that will be raised at the meeting tomorrow from the State Government’s point of view. As members know, Treasurers and ministers from around the country will be meeting in Perth tomorrow to look at issues related to our insurance industry in Australia. Key issues on the agenda tomorrow include amendments to the Trade Practices Act, long-term care for the catastrophically injured, and professional standards. Our State Government will be taking some clear messages to that conference tomorrow. One of the key messages is that we are doing our bit as a State Government on insurance issues, and we want the Commonwealth to play its part. I will give two clear examples of where we will be expecting some action from the Commonwealth. The first is on insurance premiums generally. This Parliament, as a result of legislation put forward by this Government, is significantly changing the laws on public liability insurance. We also now have a second set of legislation to deal with negligence issues generally and to introduce the concept of proportionate liability. We are very pleased that there has been a response from the insurance industry to those efforts by this State and other States. However, we want to make sure that there is a proper monitoring of that process. Therefore, I have written to the Prime Minister to make it absolutely clear that we expect the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to monitor the performance of the insurance industry so that the new framework that we are setting up as Parliaments will flow through to premiums for the people of Australia and, indeed, for the people of Western Australia. Therefore, the first issue that we will put on the agenda tomorrow is that we want the ACCC to back up the effort that our State Parliament has made to improve the insurance situation. The second issue is amendments to the Trade Practices Act. Members will be aware that there are a lot of issues related to professional indemnity insurance. We are introducing in our own laws proportionate liability. We also have professional standards schemes that allow for capping in Western Australia. However, the problem is that the Western Australian scheme can be sidestepped by people going to the commonwealth level and using the Trade Practices Act to make a claim. A lot of insurance companies are saying, quite appropriately, that because that sidestepping is possible, the things that we are doing at the state level will be contradicted by the situation at the commonwealth level. We are saying - and the Attorney General and others have made this point in the media recently - that we want the Commonwealth to back up our approach by amending the Trade Practices Act so that what this State is trying to do will flow through in benefits to the people of Western Australia and that will be facilitated by changes at the commonwealth level. I am very proud of the efforts of our State Government in this area. I quote from today’s edition of The Australian Financial Review - To date, the only governments that have acted on both legs of this reform agenda are NSW and WA. . . .The time has come for the commonwealth to show some leadership on this issue by agreeing to close the Trade Practices Act loophole and urging all states to follow the lead of NSW and WA. Once again, we have a problem in the community, and the State Government, in a proactive way, is addressing that problem through the Parliament and through its administrative actions.
Dr G.I. GALLOP replied: I can talk about the issues that will be raised at the meeting tomorrow from the State Government’s point of view. As members know, Treasurers and ministers from around the country will be meeting in Perth tomorrow to look at issues related to our insurance industry in Australia. Key issues on the agenda tomorrow include amendments to the Trade Practices Act, long-term care for the catastrophically injured, and professional standards. Our State Government will be taking some clear messages to that conference tomorrow. One of the key messages is that we are doing our bit as a State Government on insurance issues, and we want the Commonwealth to play its part. I will give two clear examples of where we will be expecting some action from the Commonwealth. The first is on insurance premiums generally. This Parliament, as a result of legislation put forward by this Government, is significantly changing the laws on public liability insurance. We also now have a second set of legislation to deal with negligence issues generally and to introduce the concept of proportionate liability. We are very pleased that there has been a response from the insurance industry to those efforts by this State and other States. However, we want to make sure that there is a proper monitoring of that process. Therefore, I have written to the Prime Minister to make it absolutely clear that we expect the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to monitor the performance of the insurance industry so that the new framework that we are setting up as Parliaments will flow through to premiums for the people of Australia and, indeed, for the people of Western Australia. Therefore, the first issue that we will put on the agenda tomorrow is that we want the ACCC to back up the effort that our State Parliament has made to improve the insurance situation. The second issue is amendments to the Trade Practices Act. Members will be aware that there are a lot of issues related to professional indemnity insurance. We are introducing in our own laws proportionate liability. We also have professional standards schemes that allow for capping in Western Australia. However, the problem is that the Western Australian scheme can be sidestepped by people going to the commonwealth level and using the Trade Practices Act to make a claim. A lot of insurance companies are saying, quite appropriately, that because that sidestepping is possible, the things that we are doing at the state level will be contradicted by the situation at the commonwealth level. We are saying - and the Attorney General and others have made this point in the media recently - that we want the Commonwealth to back up our approach by amending the Trade Practices Act so that what this State is trying to do will flow through in benefits to the people of Western Australia and that will be facilitated by changes at the commonwealth level. I am very proud of the efforts of our State Government in this area. I quote from today’s edition of The Australian Financial Review - To date, the only governments that have acted on both legs of this reform agenda are NSW and WA. . . .The time has come for the commonwealth to show some leadership on this issue by agreeing to close the Trade Practices Act loophole and urging all states to follow the lead of NSW and WA. Once again, we have a problem in the community, and the State Government, in a proactive way, is addressing that problem through the Parliament and through its administrative actions.
I can talk about the issues that will be raised at the meeting tomorrow from the State Government’s point of view. As members know, Treasurers and ministers from around the country will be meeting in Perth tomorrow to look at issues related to our insurance industry in Australia. Key issues on the agenda tomorrow include amendments to the Trade Practices Act, long-term care for the catastrophically injured, and professional standards. Our State Government will be taking some clear messages to that conference tomorrow. One of the key messages is that we are doing our bit as a State Government on insurance issues, and we want the Commonwealth to play its part. I will give two clear examples of where we will be expecting some action from the Commonwealth. The first is on insurance premiums generally. This Parliament, as a result of legislation put forward by this Government, is significantly changing the laws on public liability insurance. We also now have a second set of legislation to deal with negligence issues generally and to introduce the concept of proportionate liability. We are very pleased that there has been a response from the insurance industry to those efforts by this State and other States. However, we want to make sure that there is a proper monitoring of that process. Therefore, I have written to the Prime Minister to make it absolutely clear that we expect the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to monitor the performance of the insurance industry so that the new framework that we are setting up as Parliaments will flow through to premiums for the people of Australia and, indeed, for the people of Western Australia. Therefore, the first issue that we will put on the agenda tomorrow is that we want the ACCC to back up the effort that our State Parliament has made to improve the insurance situation. The second issue is amendments to the Trade Practices Act. Members will be aware that there are a lot of issues related to professional indemnity insurance. We are introducing in our own laws proportionate liability. We also have professional standards schemes that allow for capping in Western Australia. However, the problem is that the Western Australian scheme can be sidestepped by people going to the commonwealth level and using the Trade Practices Act to make a claim. A lot of insurance companies are saying, quite appropriately, that because that sidestepping is possible, the things that we are doing at the state level will be contradicted by the situation at the commonwealth level. We are saying - and the Attorney General and others have made this point in the media recently - that we want the Commonwealth to back up our approach by amending the Trade Practices Act so that what this State is trying to do will flow through in benefits to the people of Western Australia and that will be facilitated by changes at the commonwealth level. I am very proud of the efforts of our State Government in this area. I quote from today’s edition of The Australian Financial Review - To date, the only governments that have acted on both legs of this reform agenda are NSW and WA. . . .The time has come for the commonwealth to show some leadership on this issue by agreeing to close the Trade Practices Act loophole and urging all states to follow the lead of NSW and WA. Once again, we have a problem in the community, and the State Government, in a proactive way, is addressing that problem through the Parliament and through its administrative actions.
The second issue is amendments to the Trade Practices Act. Members will be aware that there are a lot of issues related to professional indemnity insurance. We are introducing in our own laws proportionate liability. We also have professional standards schemes that allow for capping in Western Australia. However, the problem is that the Western Australian scheme can be sidestepped by people going to the commonwealth level and using the Trade Practices Act to make a claim. A lot of insurance companies are saying, quite appropriately, that because that sidestepping is possible, the things that we are doing at the state level will be contradicted by the situation at the commonwealth level. We are saying - and the Attorney General and others have made this point in the media recently - that we want the Commonwealth to back up our approach by amending the Trade Practices Act so that what this State is trying to do will flow through in benefits to the people of Western Australia and that will be facilitated by changes at the commonwealth level. I am very proud of the efforts of our State Government in this area. I quote from today’s edition of The Australian Financial Review - To date, the only governments that have acted on both legs of this reform agenda are NSW and WA. . . .The time has come for the commonwealth to show some leadership on this issue by agreeing to close the Trade Practices Act loophole and urging all states to follow the lead of NSW and WA. Once again, we have a problem in the community, and the State Government, in a proactive way, is addressing that problem through the Parliament and through its administrative actions.
Dr G.I. GALLOP replied: I can talk about the issues that will be raised at the meeting tomorrow from the State Government’s point of view. As members know, Treasurers and ministers from around the country will be meeting in Perth tomorrow to look at issues related to our insurance industry in Australia. Key issues on the agenda tomorrow include amendments to the Trade Practices Act, long-term care for the catastrophically injured, and professional standards. Our State Government will be taking some clear messages to that conference tomorrow. One of the key messages is that we are doing our bit as a State Government on insurance issues, and we want the Commonwealth to play its part. I will give two clear examples of where we will be expecting some action from the Commonwealth. The first is on insurance premiums generally. This Parliament, as a result of legislation put forward by this Government, is significantly changing the laws on public liability insurance. We also now have a second set of legislation to deal with negligence issues generally and to introduce the concept of proportionate liability. We are very pleased that there has been a response from the insurance industry to those efforts by this State and other States. However, we want to make sure that there is a proper monitoring of that process. Therefore, I have written to the Prime Minister to make it absolutely clear that we expect the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to monitor the performance of the insurance industry so that the new framework that we are setting up as Parliaments will flow through to premiums for the people of Australia and, indeed, for the people of Western Australia. Therefore, the first issue that we will put on the agenda tomorrow is that we want the ACCC to back up the effort that our State Parliament has made to improve the insurance situation. The second issue is amendments to the Trade Practices Act. Members will be aware that there are a lot of issues related to professional indemnity insurance. We are introducing in our own laws proportionate liability. We also have professional standards schemes that allow for capping in Western Australia. However, the problem is that the Western Australian scheme can be sidestepped by people going to the commonwealth level and using the Trade Practices Act to make a claim. A lot of insurance companies are saying, quite appropriately, that because that sidestepping is possible, the things that we are doing at the state level will be contradicted by the situation at the commonwealth level. We are saying - and the Attorney General and others have made this point in the media recently - that we want the Commonwealth to back up our approach by amending the Trade Practices Act so that what this State is trying to do will flow through in benefits to the people of Western Australia and that will be facilitated by changes at the commonwealth level. I am very proud of the efforts of our State Government in this area. I quote from today’s edition of The Australian Financial Review - To date, the only governments that have acted on both legs of this reform agenda are NSW and WA. . . .The time has come for the commonwealth to show some leadership on this issue by agreeing to close the Trade Practices Act loophole and urging all states to follow the lead of NSW and WA. Once again, we have a problem in the community, and the State Government, in a proactive way, is addressing that problem through the Parliament and through its administrative actions.
I can talk about the issues that will be raised at the meeting tomorrow from the State Government’s point of view. As members know, Treasurers and ministers from around the country will be meeting in Perth tomorrow to look at issues related to our insurance industry in Australia. Key issues on the agenda tomorrow include amendments to the Trade Practices Act, long-term care for the catastrophically injured, and professional standards. Our State Government will be taking some clear messages to that conference tomorrow. One of the key messages is that we are doing our bit as a State Government on insurance issues, and we want the Commonwealth to play its part. I will give two clear examples of where we will be expecting some action from the Commonwealth. The first is on insurance premiums generally. This Parliament, as a result of legislation put forward by this Government, is significantly changing the laws on public liability insurance. We also now have a second set of legislation to deal with negligence issues generally and to introduce the concept of proportionate liability. We are very pleased that there has been a response from the insurance industry to those efforts by this State and other States. However, we want to make sure that there is a proper monitoring of that process. Therefore, I have written to the Prime Minister to make it absolutely clear that we expect the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to monitor the performance of the insurance industry so that the new framework that we are setting up as Parliaments will flow through to premiums for the people of Australia and, indeed, for the people of Western Australia. Therefore, the first issue that we will put on the agenda tomorrow is that we want the ACCC to back up the effort that our State Parliament has made to improve the insurance situation. The second issue is amendments to the Trade Practices Act. Members will be aware that there are a lot of issues related to professional indemnity insurance. We are introducing in our own laws proportionate liability. We also have professional standards schemes that allow for capping in Western Australia. However, the problem is that the Western Australian scheme can be sidestepped by people going to the commonwealth level and using the Trade Practices Act to make a claim. A lot of insurance companies are saying, quite appropriately, that because that sidestepping is possible, the things that we are doing at the state level will be contradicted by the situation at the commonwealth level. We are saying - and the Attorney General and others have made this point in the media recently - that we want the Commonwealth to back up our approach by amending the Trade Practices Act so that what this State is trying to do will flow through in benefits to the people of Western Australia and that will be facilitated by changes at the commonwealth level. I am very proud of the efforts of our State Government in this area. I quote from today’s edition of The Australian Financial Review - To date, the only governments that have acted on both legs of this reform agenda are NSW and WA. . . .The time has come for the commonwealth to show some leadership on this issue by agreeing to close the Trade Practices Act loophole and urging all states to follow the lead of NSW and WA. Once again, we have a problem in the community, and the State Government, in a proactive way, is addressing that problem through the Parliament and through its administrative actions.
The second issue is amendments to the Trade Practices Act. Members will be aware that there are a lot of issues related to professional indemnity insurance. We are introducing in our own laws proportionate liability. We also have professional standards schemes that allow for capping in Western Australia. However, the problem is that the Western Australian scheme can be sidestepped by people going to the commonwealth level and using the Trade Practices Act to make a claim. A lot of insurance companies are saying, quite appropriately, that because that sidestepping is possible, the things that we are doing at the state level will be contradicted by the situation at the commonwealth level. We are saying - and the Attorney General and others have made this point in the media recently - that we want the Commonwealth to back up our approach by amending the Trade Practices Act so that what this State is trying to do will flow through in benefits to the people of Western Australia and that will be facilitated by changes at the commonwealth level. I am very proud of the efforts of our State Government in this area. I quote from today’s edition of The Australian Financial Review - To date, the only governments that have acted on both legs of this reform agenda are NSW and WA. . . .The time has come for the commonwealth to show some leadership on this issue by agreeing to close the Trade Practices Act loophole and urging all states to follow the lead of NSW and WA. Once again, we have a problem in the community, and the State Government, in a proactive way, is addressing that problem through the Parliament and through its administrative actions.
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