Over his latest media trail, the Treasurer, Peter Gutwein, does not provide any new information but he does raise an important point - the community should be asking itself why the government wants to take over TasWater. Clearly it has got nothing to do with ensuring all boiled and do not consume alerts are removed.
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The hard work on fixing those is being done now so they will be nearly complete by the time of the government’s takeover. Clearly it has got nothing to do with keeping water and sewerage prices low in the long-term.
The TasWater modelling on the scant information provided by the state government shows that the government’s scenario will not only burden Tasmanians with future debt but also undermine the viability of the corporation.
It is a clear case of trying to woo the public with low prices before the next election then let future governments wear the problems. Clearly it has got nothing to do with open and transparent government if their own Government Business Entity practices are anything to go by.
Look at the secrecy around the aborted sale of Hydro's gas-fired power station. Look at the $80 million taken from the TT-Line to prop up the government's bottom line.
Look at the cross subsidisation between TasNetworks and Hydro or the $30 million taken from TasNetworks to prop up a failing Forestry Tasmania. It would seem the ultimate case of “the pot calling the kettle black”.
Clearly, the Government is deluded in its timeline of less than a year to establish TasWater as a Government Business Entity, based on the experience of the two significant water and sewerage reforms already undertaken since 2008.
TasWater has made remarkable progress in the three short years of its existence and it would be a dreadful shame if it were now to be subject to all the secrecy, manoeuvring and politicking that goes with being a government business. It is not hard to imagine a future scenario where Tasmania is governed by a weak, unstable government, or an arrogant secretive government. Imagine then, the impact on service quality and pricing, with TasWater working under the direction of a Minister.
Imagine then, the risks to rural regional service provision, or the potential for ‘pork barrelling’. Imagine then, how little funding will be returned to communities for investment in other important local infrastructure.
Before forming a position on the future ownership of TasWater councils sought, and failed to receive, detailed advice and modelling from the state. Councils considered whether the government’s proposal clearly offered a genuine improvement on the current TasWater plan or whether it would load Tasmanians with significant future debt. They considered whether the short-term benefits of price capping would outweigh the long-term risk of significant price increases.
Please have the confidence that under local government ownership, Taswater will fix all the drinking water problems before the state can seize control anyway, that Taswater has a well-funded plan to fix existing sewerage problems, and that it will continue to be accountable and responsible through its reporting to the Tasmanian people through their local councils, as well as through the state Parliament.
Local government puts community first – not self-interest as the state government is doing.
- Doug Chipman is Local Government Association of Tasmania president