W&S REGULATIONS INVALID CONCESSIONS PROVISION

Another Embarrassing Stuff Up for Labor

The Tasmanian Greens today exposed yet another glaring stuff-up with the Bartlett government’s flawed Water and Sewerage reforms, this time involving a Gazetted Regulation, the Water and Sewerage Industry (Community Service Obligation) Regulations 2009, referring to a section of the Act which does not exist.

Greens Water spokesperson Tim Morris MP said that the consequence of the Regulations erroneous mention of a non-existing section of the Act, could result in future concession increases being invalid, and has demanded that Treasurer Aird correct the Regulations as a matter of urgency.

Mr Morris also said that the Water and Sewerage Industry Regulations (Community Service Obligation) Regulations 2009 were listed in the Tasmanian Government Gazette, on the 30th of September this year, where it states that “These regulations prescribe who is eligible for a concession under the Water and Sewerage Industry (Community Service Obligation) Act 2009, the base amount for calculation of the concession, the percentage amount by which that base amount is to be increased for a financial year and the prescribed institutions for the purposes of the Act.”

“These water and sewerage changes are hitting the community hard with additional bills taking hundreds of dollars out of household accounts, and the last area where people can afford the government to stuff-up is in relation to the concessions,” Mr Morris said.

“The Water and Sewerage Industry (Community Service Obligation) Regulations 2009 refers to section 9(5) of the Water and Sewerage Industry (Community Service Obligation) Act 2009, when in fact section 9 of the Act ends at 9 (4). This is an embarrassing bungle for the Treasurer but it also could have serious ramifications for the Tasmanian consumer who relies on concessions.”

“The Bartlett government has bungled these water and sewerage reforms over and over, and it is the long-suffering community who ends up bearing the brunt of these stuff-ups.”

Mr Morris explained that the role of Regulations is to implement the provisions of the Act, and come into force once gazetted.

Download:

1. Copy of the Tasmanian Government Gazette excerpt, 30 September 2009
2. Pg 5 of the Water and Sewerage Industry (Community Service Obligation) Regulations 2009

Oct14_Gazette_RulesPublication_T_Morris_ATTACH1.pdf

Oct14_WSregs2009No115_T_Morris_ATTACH2.pdf

Tim Morris MP Greens Water spokesperson