KIM BOOTH

“Farmers have now woken up to the fact that they have been dudded by the Labor government and that they may have actually subsidised the water surety for Gunns Ltd.” Gunns Ltd has become fat on the public purse and now it seems that the farmers are paying to fatten up Gunns’ profits as well,” Mr Booth said.

HYDRO MUST BE FAIR WITH WATER
Why Should Farmers Pay When Gunn’s Don’t?
Kim Booth MP
Greens Primary Industries spokesperson
Friday, 15 May 2009

www.tas.greens.org.au
The Tasmanian Greens today called on Hydro Tasmania to tear up the agreement with Gunns Limited that provides the company publicly owned water at a fraction of the cost that Tasmanian farmers pay for water from the Meander Dam.

Greens Primary Industries spokesperson Kim Booth MP has also called on Hydro Tasmania to clarify whether the deal with Gunns Ltd is a take or pay arrangement, and to confirm the final price Gunns is paying per megalitre of water.

Mr Booth also pointed out that without both the Meander Dam and the Trevallyn Dam storages, Gunns’ proposed pulp mill would be inoperable.

“The Trevallyn dam was paid for by the public purse and the Meander Dam has both public and farmers’ money in it, yet incredibly the biggest beneficiary, Gunns, is only paying a measly $24 dollars per megalitre, according to documentation released under Freedom of information provisions,” Mr Booth said.

“The critical point here is that farmers pay for their water in the Meander Dam whether they use it or not by an up-front $1100 dollars per megalitre for a share in the dam, with a liability to ultimately pay for the remediation costs plus an annual service fee of $35 dollars per megalitre.”

“It seems that Gunns pay nothing more than the value of the water to Hydro Tasmania for generation lost and only if, and when, Gunns wants it.”

“Hydro must reveal exactly what final price Gunns are paying for the water and whether it is a take or pay arrangement.”

“This is an outrageous subsidy to a private corporation and farmers are quite right in their claims that Gunns should pay the same price, and under the same conditions.”

“The summer flows into the Trevallyn dam were insufficient to provide water for both the power station and West Tamar residents drinking water so it is obvious that the Meander dam and Trevallyn dams are a critical component of infrastructure upon which Gunns is reliant.”

“Farmers have now woken up to the fact that they have been dudded by the Labor government and that they may have actually subsidised the water surety for Gunns Ltd.”

“Gunns Ltd has become fat on the public purse and now it seems that the farmers are paying to fatten up Gunns’ profits as well,” Mr Booth said.