So the state government is considering taking on control of TasWater.
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The ball started rolling last Sunday.
The Sunday Examiner revealed Treasurer Peter Gutwein’s disappointment with the way that the state’s councils were handling their water and sewerage assets.
State councils have been shareholders in TasWater since 2009.
He used his keynote address at the Committee for Economic Development of Australia function the following day to make perfectly clear his thoughts on the situation.
“Tasmania’s enviable reputation for having a clean and safe environment is being put at risk by local government’s inability to ensure all Tasmanians have access to clean and safe drinking water and our wastewater systems comply with environmental standards,” Mr Gutwein said.
He did not tread lightly, calling the situation a “crisis point”, and accusing councils of prioritising dividend payments to themselves ahead of the water and sewerage assets that fell under their care.
On Friday, he took a stand once more, and said the state government was actively considering a takeover of TasWater infrastructure.
Mr Gutwein said the government would better the councils’ plan to overhaul the water and sewerage infrastructure, and complete the project in five rather than 10 years.
“It would enable the state government to utilise the strength of its balance sheet to get the job done and to accelerate the programs that TasWater are currently rolling out,” Mr Gutwein said of the flagged takeover.
All this was said at a meeting the treasurer held with council representatives from around the state. Understandably, mayors weren’t over chuffed with the thought.
Some said they thought and “agenda” was at play. Others sought more information about the flow-on effects that any potential ownership change would bring.
Councils will lose annual revenue if they lose control of the infrastructure. It also raises the question – is this is a step in the direction of amalgamation?
Certainly, it would make it a smoother process if water and sewerage were taken out of the mix.
Like the councils, the Tasmanian community needs more information before such a process takes hold.
It’s all still a bit murky – much like the tap water from the Tasmanian towns that remain on boil alerts.