IT’S the type of problem every treasurer in the country would like to have.
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On Sunday, the state government announced a $150 million increase to its bottom line.
The increase was thanks mainly to an increase in receipts from conveyance duty and land tax – our booming housing market.
Treasurer Peter Gutwein labelled it “very good news” and he’s right.
But just what will the government do with this windfall?
Just like young orphan Oliver Twist in Charles Dickens’ immortal classic of the same name, there are people already lining up with their hands out crying: “More please!”
So what does the government do with its sudden and unexpected cash surplus?
There are a number of very worthy – and some less than worthy – ideas and projects floating around – including health, education and protecting our most vulnerable, as highlighted by Mr Gutwein on Sunday.
But it’s difficult to argue against spending at least a large portion of that money on Launceston’s ailing water and sewerage infrastructure.
Greens leader Cassy O’Connor called on the government to make “a real financial commitment” to Hobart’s light rail project.
But one can only wonder how she would feel if there was raw sewage floating past her front door or down the streets of Salamanca?
Labor called for the government to fund the state’s health and child protection systems – obviously all very worthy recipients of an increase in funding.
The government will release its annual state budget in May. That must including some funding commitment to help fix Launceston’s sewerage infrastructure.
The total project of a new treatment plant will run into the hundreds of millions of dollars.
Ultimately, that will most likely come from a combination of state and federal government and TasWater funding.
The people of Launceston deserve a clean, healthy, modern system that doesn’t spill raw effluent into the Tamar River.
In 2014, the TasWater Margaret Street pump station spilled raw effluent into the city’s river on no less than 1255 occasions. In 2015, that figure was 913 times.
Someone desperately needs to show leadership on this issue, and importantly, show they’re determined to do something about it rather than just pay lip service to an issue that isn’t going to go away.