❓ A WA Nationals MP questions the Energy Minister about Western Power's call centre inadequacies following a severe storm, highlighting past concerns and perceived government inaction. The Minister acknowledges the issue but doesn't commit to an overhaul, promising to review the situation.
AnsweredQoN 224Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
The severe storm activity last week has once again highlighted the inadequacies of Western Power’s call centre, which has resulted in public outrage. (1) Is the minister aware that the Nationals identified and raised the problem with the Gallop government more than two years ago in March 2003 and on a number of subsequent occasions? (2) Does the minister concede that the government has dragged its feet in remedying the problem, given that Western Power’s manager for networks stated in June 2004 that the corporation recognised the frustration of its customers and was in the process of refining its performance? (3) Will the minister commit to an overhaul of the call centre? Mr A.J. CARPENTER
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the Leader of the National Party for some notice of the question. I do have some advice provided to me by Western Power. (1) Yes, I acknowledge that the matter has been raised by the opposition. (2) Western Power does not concede that its call centre requires an overhaul, but I will have a look at the matter in relation to the issues the member has raised. The state government declared last week’s storm a natural disaster. At its peak the storm affected 110 000 customers, the highest impact on services that Western Power has seen for 10 years. Approximately 104 000 calls were received during the course of the day following the storm, approximately 10 times the norm. The call centre continued to receive high volumes of calls throughout the week. On an average day the call centre would be expected to receive no more than 500 fault calls. (3) No, I will not commit to an overhaul of the call centre, but I will have a look at it to see whether it is necessary, now that the member has raised the issue. I am hopeful that the National Party will support us in our reform of Western Power. I see no reason that it should not. As people now know, this afternoon’s budget will allocate a very large increase in funds to Western Power. We are, I think rightly, committed to improving the reliability of power supply to all Western Australians. Allocations of money will go specifically to that. This is an opportunity for the Liberal Party to support us as well. It has been a difficult issue, but most people in Western Australia now recognise that reform is necessary and would be good. The storm was an extraordinary event. Even in the areas of Melville, Bicton and Attadale, the amount of damage done was amazing. I would like to pay tribute, if I may, to the emergency workers, the Western Power linepeople and other workers. I inadvertently found myself in the middle of the area early on Monday morning when initial assessments and repairs were being carried out. I thought that they were performing very dangerous work. Mr P.D. Omodei : They are amazing. They are very good, minister. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : They are very good and deserve commendation not condemnation. Mr P.D. Omodei : The call centre is the problem. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The issue of the call centre has not been raised with me before, but now that it has been raised, I will have a look at it to see if anything necessary needs to be done.
(1) Is the minister aware that the Nationals identified and raised the problem with the Gallop government more than two years ago in March 2003 and on a number of subsequent occasions? (2) Does the minister concede that the government has dragged its feet in remedying the problem, given that Western Power’s manager for networks stated in June 2004 that the corporation recognised the frustration of its customers and was in the process of refining its performance? (3) Will the minister commit to an overhaul of the call centre? Mr A.J. CARPENTER replied: I thank the Leader of the National Party for some notice of the question. I do have some advice provided to me by Western Power. (1) Yes, I acknowledge that the matter has been raised by the opposition. (2) Western Power does not concede that its call centre requires an overhaul, but I will have a look at the matter in relation to the issues the member has raised. The state government declared last week’s storm a natural disaster. At its peak the storm affected 110 000 customers, the highest impact on services that Western Power has seen for 10 years. Approximately 104 000 calls were received during the course of the day following the storm, approximately 10 times the norm. The call centre continued to receive high volumes of calls throughout the week. On an average day the call centre would be expected to receive no more than 500 fault calls. (3) No, I will not commit to an overhaul of the call centre, but I will have a look at it to see whether it is necessary, now that the member has raised the issue. I am hopeful that the National Party will support us in our reform of Western Power. I see no reason that it should not. As people now know, this afternoon’s budget will allocate a very large increase in funds to Western Power. We are, I think rightly, committed to improving the reliability of power supply to all Western Australians. Allocations of money will go specifically to that. This is an opportunity for the Liberal Party to support us as well. It has been a difficult issue, but most people in Western Australia now recognise that reform is necessary and would be good. The storm was an extraordinary event. Even in the areas of Melville, Bicton and Attadale, the amount of damage done was amazing. I would like to pay tribute, if I may, to the emergency workers, the Western Power linepeople and other workers. I inadvertently found myself in the middle of the area early on Monday morning when initial assessments and repairs were being carried out. I thought that they were performing very dangerous work. Mr P.D. Omodei : They are amazing. They are very good, minister. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : They are very good and deserve commendation not condemnation. Mr P.D. Omodei : The call centre is the problem. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The issue of the call centre has not been raised with me before, but now that it has been raised, I will have a look at it to see if anything necessary needs to be done.
(2) Does the minister concede that the government has dragged its feet in remedying the problem, given that Western Power’s manager for networks stated in June 2004 that the corporation recognised the frustration of its customers and was in the process of refining its performance? (3) Will the minister commit to an overhaul of the call centre? Mr A.J. CARPENTER replied: I thank the Leader of the National Party for some notice of the question. I do have some advice provided to me by Western Power. (1) Yes, I acknowledge that the matter has been raised by the opposition. (2) Western Power does not concede that its call centre requires an overhaul, but I will have a look at the matter in relation to the issues the member has raised. The state government declared last week’s storm a natural disaster. At its peak the storm affected 110 000 customers, the highest impact on services that Western Power has seen for 10 years. Approximately 104 000 calls were received during the course of the day following the storm, approximately 10 times the norm. The call centre continued to receive high volumes of calls throughout the week. On an average day the call centre would be expected to receive no more than 500 fault calls. (3) No, I will not commit to an overhaul of the call centre, but I will have a look at it to see whether it is necessary, now that the member has raised the issue. I am hopeful that the National Party will support us in our reform of Western Power. I see no reason that it should not. As people now know, this afternoon’s budget will allocate a very large increase in funds to Western Power. We are, I think rightly, committed to improving the reliability of power supply to all Western Australians. Allocations of money will go specifically to that. This is an opportunity for the Liberal Party to support us as well. It has been a difficult issue, but most people in Western Australia now recognise that reform is necessary and would be good. The storm was an extraordinary event. Even in the areas of Melville, Bicton and Attadale, the amount of damage done was amazing. I would like to pay tribute, if I may, to the emergency workers, the Western Power linepeople and other workers. I inadvertently found myself in the middle of the area early on Monday morning when initial assessments and repairs were being carried out. I thought that they were performing very dangerous work. Mr P.D. Omodei : They are amazing. They are very good, minister. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : They are very good and deserve commendation not condemnation. Mr P.D. Omodei : The call centre is the problem. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The issue of the call centre has not been raised with me before, but now that it has been raised, I will have a look at it to see if anything necessary needs to be done.
(3) Will the minister commit to an overhaul of the call centre? Mr A.J. CARPENTER replied: I thank the Leader of the National Party for some notice of the question. I do have some advice provided to me by Western Power. (1) Yes, I acknowledge that the matter has been raised by the opposition. (2) Western Power does not concede that its call centre requires an overhaul, but I will have a look at the matter in relation to the issues the member has raised. The state government declared last week’s storm a natural disaster. At its peak the storm affected 110 000 customers, the highest impact on services that Western Power has seen for 10 years. Approximately 104 000 calls were received during the course of the day following the storm, approximately 10 times the norm. The call centre continued to receive high volumes of calls throughout the week. On an average day the call centre would be expected to receive no more than 500 fault calls. (3) No, I will not commit to an overhaul of the call centre, but I will have a look at it to see whether it is necessary, now that the member has raised the issue. I am hopeful that the National Party will support us in our reform of Western Power. I see no reason that it should not. As people now know, this afternoon’s budget will allocate a very large increase in funds to Western Power. We are, I think rightly, committed to improving the reliability of power supply to all Western Australians. Allocations of money will go specifically to that. This is an opportunity for the Liberal Party to support us as well. It has been a difficult issue, but most people in Western Australia now recognise that reform is necessary and would be good. The storm was an extraordinary event. Even in the areas of Melville, Bicton and Attadale, the amount of damage done was amazing. I would like to pay tribute, if I may, to the emergency workers, the Western Power linepeople and other workers. I inadvertently found myself in the middle of the area early on Monday morning when initial assessments and repairs were being carried out. I thought that they were performing very dangerous work. Mr P.D. Omodei : They are amazing. They are very good, minister. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : They are very good and deserve commendation not condemnation. Mr P.D. Omodei : The call centre is the problem. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The issue of the call centre has not been raised with me before, but now that it has been raised, I will have a look at it to see if anything necessary needs to be done.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER replied: I thank the Leader of the National Party for some notice of the question. I do have some advice provided to me by Western Power. (1) Yes, I acknowledge that the matter has been raised by the opposition. (2) Western Power does not concede that its call centre requires an overhaul, but I will have a look at the matter in relation to the issues the member has raised. The state government declared last week’s storm a natural disaster. At its peak the storm affected 110 000 customers, the highest impact on services that Western Power has seen for 10 years. Approximately 104 000 calls were received during the course of the day following the storm, approximately 10 times the norm. The call centre continued to receive high volumes of calls throughout the week. On an average day the call centre would be expected to receive no more than 500 fault calls. (3) No, I will not commit to an overhaul of the call centre, but I will have a look at it to see whether it is necessary, now that the member has raised the issue. I am hopeful that the National Party will support us in our reform of Western Power. I see no reason that it should not. As people now know, this afternoon’s budget will allocate a very large increase in funds to Western Power. We are, I think rightly, committed to improving the reliability of power supply to all Western Australians. Allocations of money will go specifically to that. This is an opportunity for the Liberal Party to support us as well. It has been a difficult issue, but most people in Western Australia now recognise that reform is necessary and would be good. The storm was an extraordinary event. Even in the areas of Melville, Bicton and Attadale, the amount of damage done was amazing. I would like to pay tribute, if I may, to the emergency workers, the Western Power linepeople and other workers. I inadvertently found myself in the middle of the area early on Monday morning when initial assessments and repairs were being carried out. I thought that they were performing very dangerous work. Mr P.D. Omodei : They are amazing. They are very good, minister. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : They are very good and deserve commendation not condemnation. Mr P.D. Omodei : The call centre is the problem. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The issue of the call centre has not been raised with me before, but now that it has been raised, I will have a look at it to see if anything necessary needs to be done.
I thank the Leader of the National Party for some notice of the question. I do have some advice provided to me by Western Power. (1) Yes, I acknowledge that the matter has been raised by the opposition. (2) Western Power does not concede that its call centre requires an overhaul, but I will have a look at the matter in relation to the issues the member has raised. The state government declared last week’s storm a natural disaster. At its peak the storm affected 110 000 customers, the highest impact on services that Western Power has seen for 10 years. Approximately 104 000 calls were received during the course of the day following the storm, approximately 10 times the norm. The call centre continued to receive high volumes of calls throughout the week. On an average day the call centre would be expected to receive no more than 500 fault calls. (3) No, I will not commit to an overhaul of the call centre, but I will have a look at it to see whether it is necessary, now that the member has raised the issue. I am hopeful that the National Party will support us in our reform of Western Power. I see no reason that it should not. As people now know, this afternoon’s budget will allocate a very large increase in funds to Western Power. We are, I think rightly, committed to improving the reliability of power supply to all Western Australians. Allocations of money will go specifically to that. This is an opportunity for the Liberal Party to support us as well. It has been a difficult issue, but most people in Western Australia now recognise that reform is necessary and would be good. The storm was an extraordinary event. Even in the areas of Melville, Bicton and Attadale, the amount of damage done was amazing. I would like to pay tribute, if I may, to the emergency workers, the Western Power linepeople and other workers. I inadvertently found myself in the middle of the area early on Monday morning when initial assessments and repairs were being carried out. I thought that they were performing very dangerous work. Mr P.D. Omodei : They are amazing. They are very good, minister. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : They are very good and deserve commendation not condemnation. Mr P.D. Omodei : The call centre is the problem. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The issue of the call centre has not been raised with me before, but now that it has been raised, I will have a look at it to see if anything necessary needs to be done.
(1) Yes, I acknowledge that the matter has been raised by the opposition. (2) Western Power does not concede that its call centre requires an overhaul, but I will have a look at the matter in relation to the issues the member has raised. The state government declared last week’s storm a natural disaster. At its peak the storm affected 110 000 customers, the highest impact on services that Western Power has seen for 10 years. Approximately 104 000 calls were received during the course of the day following the storm, approximately 10 times the norm. The call centre continued to receive high volumes of calls throughout the week. On an average day the call centre would be expected to receive no more than 500 fault calls. (3) No, I will not commit to an overhaul of the call centre, but I will have a look at it to see whether it is necessary, now that the member has raised the issue. I am hopeful that the National Party will support us in our reform of Western Power. I see no reason that it should not. As people now know, this afternoon’s budget will allocate a very large increase in funds to Western Power. We are, I think rightly, committed to improving the reliability of power supply to all Western Australians. Allocations of money will go specifically to that. This is an opportunity for the Liberal Party to support us as well. It has been a difficult issue, but most people in Western Australia now recognise that reform is necessary and would be good. The storm was an extraordinary event. Even in the areas of Melville, Bicton and Attadale, the amount of damage done was amazing. I would like to pay tribute, if I may, to the emergency workers, the Western Power linepeople and other workers. I inadvertently found myself in the middle of the area early on Monday morning when initial assessments and repairs were being carried out. I thought that they were performing very dangerous work. Mr P.D. Omodei : They are amazing. They are very good, minister. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : They are very good and deserve commendation not condemnation. Mr P.D. Omodei : The call centre is the problem. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The issue of the call centre has not been raised with me before, but now that it has been raised, I will have a look at it to see if anything necessary needs to be done.
(2) Western Power does not concede that its call centre requires an overhaul, but I will have a look at the matter in relation to the issues the member has raised. The state government declared last week’s storm a natural disaster. At its peak the storm affected 110 000 customers, the highest impact on services that Western Power has seen for 10 years. Approximately 104 000 calls were received during the course of the day following the storm, approximately 10 times the norm. The call centre continued to receive high volumes of calls throughout the week. On an average day the call centre would be expected to receive no more than 500 fault calls. (3) No, I will not commit to an overhaul of the call centre, but I will have a look at it to see whether it is necessary, now that the member has raised the issue. I am hopeful that the National Party will support us in our reform of Western Power. I see no reason that it should not. As people now know, this afternoon’s budget will allocate a very large increase in funds to Western Power. We are, I think rightly, committed to improving the reliability of power supply to all Western Australians. Allocations of money will go specifically to that. This is an opportunity for the Liberal Party to support us as well. It has been a difficult issue, but most people in Western Australia now recognise that reform is necessary and would be good. The storm was an extraordinary event. Even in the areas of Melville, Bicton and Attadale, the amount of damage done was amazing. I would like to pay tribute, if I may, to the emergency workers, the Western Power linepeople and other workers. I inadvertently found myself in the middle of the area early on Monday morning when initial assessments and repairs were being carried out. I thought that they were performing very dangerous work. Mr P.D. Omodei : They are amazing. They are very good, minister. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : They are very good and deserve commendation not condemnation. Mr P.D. Omodei : The call centre is the problem. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The issue of the call centre has not been raised with me before, but now that it has been raised, I will have a look at it to see if anything necessary needs to be done.
(3) No, I will not commit to an overhaul of the call centre, but I will have a look at it to see whether it is necessary, now that the member has raised the issue. I am hopeful that the National Party will support us in our reform of Western Power. I see no reason that it should not. As people now know, this afternoon’s budget will allocate a very large increase in funds to Western Power. We are, I think rightly, committed to improving the reliability of power supply to all Western Australians. Allocations of money will go specifically to that. This is an opportunity for the Liberal Party to support us as well. It has been a difficult issue, but most people in Western Australia now recognise that reform is necessary and would be good. The storm was an extraordinary event. Even in the areas of Melville, Bicton and Attadale, the amount of damage done was amazing. I would like to pay tribute, if I may, to the emergency workers, the Western Power linepeople and other workers. I inadvertently found myself in the middle of the area early on Monday morning when initial assessments and repairs were being carried out. I thought that they were performing very dangerous work. Mr P.D. Omodei : They are amazing. They are very good, minister. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : They are very good and deserve commendation not condemnation. Mr P.D. Omodei : The call centre is the problem. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The issue of the call centre has not been raised with me before, but now that it has been raised, I will have a look at it to see if anything necessary needs to be done.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER : They are very good and deserve commendation not condemnation. Mr P.D. Omodei : The call centre is the problem. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The issue of the call centre has not been raised with me before, but now that it has been raised, I will have a look at it to see if anything necessary needs to be done.
Mr P.D. Omodei : The call centre is the problem. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The issue of the call centre has not been raised with me before, but now that it has been raised, I will have a look at it to see if anything necessary needs to be done.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The issue of the call centre has not been raised with me before, but now that it has been raised, I will have a look at it to see if anything necessary needs to be done.
(1) Is the minister aware that the Nationals identified and raised the problem with the Gallop government more than two years ago in March 2003 and on a number of subsequent occasions? (2) Does the minister concede that the government has dragged its feet in remedying the problem, given that Western Power’s manager for networks stated in June 2004 that the corporation recognised the frustration of its customers and was in the process of refining its performance? (3) Will the minister commit to an overhaul of the call centre? Mr A.J. CARPENTER replied: I thank the Leader of the National Party for some notice of the question. I do have some advice provided to me by Western Power. (1) Yes, I acknowledge that the matter has been raised by the opposition. (2) Western Power does not concede that its call centre requires an overhaul, but I will have a look at the matter in relation to the issues the member has raised. The state government declared last week’s storm a natural disaster. At its peak the storm affected 110 000 customers, the highest impact on services that Western Power has seen for 10 years. Approximately 104 000 calls were received during the course of the day following the storm, approximately 10 times the norm. The call centre continued to receive high volumes of calls throughout the week. On an average day the call centre would be expected to receive no more than 500 fault calls. (3) No, I will not commit to an overhaul of the call centre, but I will have a look at it to see whether it is necessary, now that the member has raised the issue. I am hopeful that the National Party will support us in our reform of Western Power. I see no reason that it should not. As people now know, this afternoon’s budget will allocate a very large increase in funds to Western Power. We are, I think rightly, committed to improving the reliability of power supply to all Western Australians. Allocations of money will go specifically to that. This is an opportunity for the Liberal Party to support us as well. It has been a difficult issue, but most people in Western Australia now recognise that reform is necessary and would be good. The storm was an extraordinary event. Even in the areas of Melville, Bicton and Attadale, the amount of damage done was amazing. I would like to pay tribute, if I may, to the emergency workers, the Western Power linepeople and other workers. I inadvertently found myself in the middle of the area early on Monday morning when initial assessments and repairs were being carried out. I thought that they were performing very dangerous work. Mr P.D. Omodei : They are amazing. They are very good, minister. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : They are very good and deserve commendation not condemnation. Mr P.D. Omodei : The call centre is the problem. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The issue of the call centre has not been raised with me before, but now that it has been raised, I will have a look at it to see if anything necessary needs to be done.
(2) Does the minister concede that the government has dragged its feet in remedying the problem, given that Western Power’s manager for networks stated in June 2004 that the corporation recognised the frustration of its customers and was in the process of refining its performance? (3) Will the minister commit to an overhaul of the call centre? Mr A.J. CARPENTER replied: I thank the Leader of the National Party for some notice of the question. I do have some advice provided to me by Western Power. (1) Yes, I acknowledge that the matter has been raised by the opposition. (2) Western Power does not concede that its call centre requires an overhaul, but I will have a look at the matter in relation to the issues the member has raised. The state government declared last week’s storm a natural disaster. At its peak the storm affected 110 000 customers, the highest impact on services that Western Power has seen for 10 years. Approximately 104 000 calls were received during the course of the day following the storm, approximately 10 times the norm. The call centre continued to receive high volumes of calls throughout the week. On an average day the call centre would be expected to receive no more than 500 fault calls. (3) No, I will not commit to an overhaul of the call centre, but I will have a look at it to see whether it is necessary, now that the member has raised the issue. I am hopeful that the National Party will support us in our reform of Western Power. I see no reason that it should not. As people now know, this afternoon’s budget will allocate a very large increase in funds to Western Power. We are, I think rightly, committed to improving the reliability of power supply to all Western Australians. Allocations of money will go specifically to that. This is an opportunity for the Liberal Party to support us as well. It has been a difficult issue, but most people in Western Australia now recognise that reform is necessary and would be good. The storm was an extraordinary event. Even in the areas of Melville, Bicton and Attadale, the amount of damage done was amazing. I would like to pay tribute, if I may, to the emergency workers, the Western Power linepeople and other workers. I inadvertently found myself in the middle of the area early on Monday morning when initial assessments and repairs were being carried out. I thought that they were performing very dangerous work. Mr P.D. Omodei : They are amazing. They are very good, minister. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : They are very good and deserve commendation not condemnation. Mr P.D. Omodei : The call centre is the problem. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The issue of the call centre has not been raised with me before, but now that it has been raised, I will have a look at it to see if anything necessary needs to be done.
(3) Will the minister commit to an overhaul of the call centre? Mr A.J. CARPENTER replied: I thank the Leader of the National Party for some notice of the question. I do have some advice provided to me by Western Power. (1) Yes, I acknowledge that the matter has been raised by the opposition. (2) Western Power does not concede that its call centre requires an overhaul, but I will have a look at the matter in relation to the issues the member has raised. The state government declared last week’s storm a natural disaster. At its peak the storm affected 110 000 customers, the highest impact on services that Western Power has seen for 10 years. Approximately 104 000 calls were received during the course of the day following the storm, approximately 10 times the norm. The call centre continued to receive high volumes of calls throughout the week. On an average day the call centre would be expected to receive no more than 500 fault calls. (3) No, I will not commit to an overhaul of the call centre, but I will have a look at it to see whether it is necessary, now that the member has raised the issue. I am hopeful that the National Party will support us in our reform of Western Power. I see no reason that it should not. As people now know, this afternoon’s budget will allocate a very large increase in funds to Western Power. We are, I think rightly, committed to improving the reliability of power supply to all Western Australians. Allocations of money will go specifically to that. This is an opportunity for the Liberal Party to support us as well. It has been a difficult issue, but most people in Western Australia now recognise that reform is necessary and would be good. The storm was an extraordinary event. Even in the areas of Melville, Bicton and Attadale, the amount of damage done was amazing. I would like to pay tribute, if I may, to the emergency workers, the Western Power linepeople and other workers. I inadvertently found myself in the middle of the area early on Monday morning when initial assessments and repairs were being carried out. I thought that they were performing very dangerous work. Mr P.D. Omodei : They are amazing. They are very good, minister. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : They are very good and deserve commendation not condemnation. Mr P.D. Omodei : The call centre is the problem. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The issue of the call centre has not been raised with me before, but now that it has been raised, I will have a look at it to see if anything necessary needs to be done.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER replied: I thank the Leader of the National Party for some notice of the question. I do have some advice provided to me by Western Power. (1) Yes, I acknowledge that the matter has been raised by the opposition. (2) Western Power does not concede that its call centre requires an overhaul, but I will have a look at the matter in relation to the issues the member has raised. The state government declared last week’s storm a natural disaster. At its peak the storm affected 110 000 customers, the highest impact on services that Western Power has seen for 10 years. Approximately 104 000 calls were received during the course of the day following the storm, approximately 10 times the norm. The call centre continued to receive high volumes of calls throughout the week. On an average day the call centre would be expected to receive no more than 500 fault calls. (3) No, I will not commit to an overhaul of the call centre, but I will have a look at it to see whether it is necessary, now that the member has raised the issue. I am hopeful that the National Party will support us in our reform of Western Power. I see no reason that it should not. As people now know, this afternoon’s budget will allocate a very large increase in funds to Western Power. We are, I think rightly, committed to improving the reliability of power supply to all Western Australians. Allocations of money will go specifically to that. This is an opportunity for the Liberal Party to support us as well. It has been a difficult issue, but most people in Western Australia now recognise that reform is necessary and would be good. The storm was an extraordinary event. Even in the areas of Melville, Bicton and Attadale, the amount of damage done was amazing. I would like to pay tribute, if I may, to the emergency workers, the Western Power linepeople and other workers. I inadvertently found myself in the middle of the area early on Monday morning when initial assessments and repairs were being carried out. I thought that they were performing very dangerous work. Mr P.D. Omodei : They are amazing. They are very good, minister. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : They are very good and deserve commendation not condemnation. Mr P.D. Omodei : The call centre is the problem. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The issue of the call centre has not been raised with me before, but now that it has been raised, I will have a look at it to see if anything necessary needs to be done.
I thank the Leader of the National Party for some notice of the question. I do have some advice provided to me by Western Power. (1) Yes, I acknowledge that the matter has been raised by the opposition. (2) Western Power does not concede that its call centre requires an overhaul, but I will have a look at the matter in relation to the issues the member has raised. The state government declared last week’s storm a natural disaster. At its peak the storm affected 110 000 customers, the highest impact on services that Western Power has seen for 10 years. Approximately 104 000 calls were received during the course of the day following the storm, approximately 10 times the norm. The call centre continued to receive high volumes of calls throughout the week. On an average day the call centre would be expected to receive no more than 500 fault calls. (3) No, I will not commit to an overhaul of the call centre, but I will have a look at it to see whether it is necessary, now that the member has raised the issue. I am hopeful that the National Party will support us in our reform of Western Power. I see no reason that it should not. As people now know, this afternoon’s budget will allocate a very large increase in funds to Western Power. We are, I think rightly, committed to improving the reliability of power supply to all Western Australians. Allocations of money will go specifically to that. This is an opportunity for the Liberal Party to support us as well. It has been a difficult issue, but most people in Western Australia now recognise that reform is necessary and would be good. The storm was an extraordinary event. Even in the areas of Melville, Bicton and Attadale, the amount of damage done was amazing. I would like to pay tribute, if I may, to the emergency workers, the Western Power linepeople and other workers. I inadvertently found myself in the middle of the area early on Monday morning when initial assessments and repairs were being carried out. I thought that they were performing very dangerous work. Mr P.D. Omodei : They are amazing. They are very good, minister. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : They are very good and deserve commendation not condemnation. Mr P.D. Omodei : The call centre is the problem. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The issue of the call centre has not been raised with me before, but now that it has been raised, I will have a look at it to see if anything necessary needs to be done.
(1) Yes, I acknowledge that the matter has been raised by the opposition. (2) Western Power does not concede that its call centre requires an overhaul, but I will have a look at the matter in relation to the issues the member has raised. The state government declared last week’s storm a natural disaster. At its peak the storm affected 110 000 customers, the highest impact on services that Western Power has seen for 10 years. Approximately 104 000 calls were received during the course of the day following the storm, approximately 10 times the norm. The call centre continued to receive high volumes of calls throughout the week. On an average day the call centre would be expected to receive no more than 500 fault calls. (3) No, I will not commit to an overhaul of the call centre, but I will have a look at it to see whether it is necessary, now that the member has raised the issue. I am hopeful that the National Party will support us in our reform of Western Power. I see no reason that it should not. As people now know, this afternoon’s budget will allocate a very large increase in funds to Western Power. We are, I think rightly, committed to improving the reliability of power supply to all Western Australians. Allocations of money will go specifically to that. This is an opportunity for the Liberal Party to support us as well. It has been a difficult issue, but most people in Western Australia now recognise that reform is necessary and would be good. The storm was an extraordinary event. Even in the areas of Melville, Bicton and Attadale, the amount of damage done was amazing. I would like to pay tribute, if I may, to the emergency workers, the Western Power linepeople and other workers. I inadvertently found myself in the middle of the area early on Monday morning when initial assessments and repairs were being carried out. I thought that they were performing very dangerous work. Mr P.D. Omodei : They are amazing. They are very good, minister. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : They are very good and deserve commendation not condemnation. Mr P.D. Omodei : The call centre is the problem. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The issue of the call centre has not been raised with me before, but now that it has been raised, I will have a look at it to see if anything necessary needs to be done.
(2) Western Power does not concede that its call centre requires an overhaul, but I will have a look at the matter in relation to the issues the member has raised. The state government declared last week’s storm a natural disaster. At its peak the storm affected 110 000 customers, the highest impact on services that Western Power has seen for 10 years. Approximately 104 000 calls were received during the course of the day following the storm, approximately 10 times the norm. The call centre continued to receive high volumes of calls throughout the week. On an average day the call centre would be expected to receive no more than 500 fault calls. (3) No, I will not commit to an overhaul of the call centre, but I will have a look at it to see whether it is necessary, now that the member has raised the issue. I am hopeful that the National Party will support us in our reform of Western Power. I see no reason that it should not. As people now know, this afternoon’s budget will allocate a very large increase in funds to Western Power. We are, I think rightly, committed to improving the reliability of power supply to all Western Australians. Allocations of money will go specifically to that. This is an opportunity for the Liberal Party to support us as well. It has been a difficult issue, but most people in Western Australia now recognise that reform is necessary and would be good. The storm was an extraordinary event. Even in the areas of Melville, Bicton and Attadale, the amount of damage done was amazing. I would like to pay tribute, if I may, to the emergency workers, the Western Power linepeople and other workers. I inadvertently found myself in the middle of the area early on Monday morning when initial assessments and repairs were being carried out. I thought that they were performing very dangerous work. Mr P.D. Omodei : They are amazing. They are very good, minister. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : They are very good and deserve commendation not condemnation. Mr P.D. Omodei : The call centre is the problem. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The issue of the call centre has not been raised with me before, but now that it has been raised, I will have a look at it to see if anything necessary needs to be done.
(3) No, I will not commit to an overhaul of the call centre, but I will have a look at it to see whether it is necessary, now that the member has raised the issue. I am hopeful that the National Party will support us in our reform of Western Power. I see no reason that it should not. As people now know, this afternoon’s budget will allocate a very large increase in funds to Western Power. We are, I think rightly, committed to improving the reliability of power supply to all Western Australians. Allocations of money will go specifically to that. This is an opportunity for the Liberal Party to support us as well. It has been a difficult issue, but most people in Western Australia now recognise that reform is necessary and would be good. The storm was an extraordinary event. Even in the areas of Melville, Bicton and Attadale, the amount of damage done was amazing. I would like to pay tribute, if I may, to the emergency workers, the Western Power linepeople and other workers. I inadvertently found myself in the middle of the area early on Monday morning when initial assessments and repairs were being carried out. I thought that they were performing very dangerous work. Mr P.D. Omodei : They are amazing. They are very good, minister. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : They are very good and deserve commendation not condemnation. Mr P.D. Omodei : The call centre is the problem. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The issue of the call centre has not been raised with me before, but now that it has been raised, I will have a look at it to see if anything necessary needs to be done.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER : They are very good and deserve commendation not condemnation. Mr P.D. Omodei : The call centre is the problem. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The issue of the call centre has not been raised with me before, but now that it has been raised, I will have a look at it to see if anything necessary needs to be done.
Mr P.D. Omodei : The call centre is the problem. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The issue of the call centre has not been raised with me before, but now that it has been raised, I will have a look at it to see if anything necessary needs to be done.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The issue of the call centre has not been raised with me before, but now that it has been raised, I will have a look at it to see if anything necessary needs to be done.
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