Last Thursday, this editorial column ran with the introduction: “Enough is enough”.
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In that instance, it was referring to another appeal lodged against the CH Smith redevelopment – this time to the Resource Management and Planning Appeal Tribunal.
Those same three words, however, could also be used to describe the situation surrounding the parlous situation of Launceston’s water and sewerage infrastructure.
The city's combined sewerage and stormwater system is antiquated and simply not capable of handling what Launceston’s residents are throwing at it, so to speak. At it’s worst, the system discharges raw sewage into the Tamar when the city’s sewage plants and pumping stations become overwhelmed during high rainfall.
And it happens a lot more than people think. For example, in 2015 the Margaret Street pump station spilled raw effluent into the Tamar more than 900 times. That’s untreated sewage spewing into our river almost twice a day.
In a statement released on Sunday, Launceston Chamber of Commerce executive officer Jan Davis said that the time for buck-passing and bureaucratic squabbling had long past.
Treasurer Peter Gutwein told the Committee for Economic Development of Australia forum in Hobart on Monday that water and sewerage problems statewide were unacceptable and TasWater owners had failed to accept responsibility – those owners being the state’s 29 councils.
He went on to say that urgent action was now required.
We know this – people have said it all before but still nothing happens. More inaction from a company whose mission statement says it aims to be a trusted and respected provider of essential services that is making a positive difference. Given the derelict state of some of Tasmania's water and sewerage infrastructure, it's difficult to see how that vision aligns with reality.
Mr Gutwein, as local government minister, has called an emergency meeting with councils on Friday.
Those councils are in the box seat to do more. The TasWater board is solely accountable to the owners’ representative group, which is made up of a representative from each of the state’s municipal areas.
Ultimately, those councils hold the key to fixing all of this state’s water and sewerage problems. All that’s required is an ounce of willpower.