Actual Cost is $53.4 Million
www.tas.greens.org.au
The Tasmanian Greens today called on Premier Bartlett to clarify his statement on Water and Sewerage bills saying that he appears to be trying to deceive consumers that the cost of his new water and sewerage concessions will only be an $8.9 million payment each year for the next three years to the Corporations, when the actual cost to Treasury will be at least $53.4 million if the Government is to subsidise half the price increases until its planned review in 2012/13.
Greens Water spokesperson Tim Morris MP also demanded that the government clarify the timeframe by which people could expect to receive their refunds given the contradiction between Treasurer Michael Aird and Geoff Willis as to whether it will happen before the end of the year or not.
Mr Morris also said that the bizarre announcement from the Premier has created confusion and uncertainty over just what, when and how much the government will be paying for both this year and for the next two years, and that will also cause a huge new cost for the new Water Corporations as they identify who is now due for how much of a refund.
“Yesterday Premier Bartlett claimed that his backflip on water and sewerage pricing increases was not an election promise, yet he appears to have committed the government to expenditure of well over $50 million dollars over three years and it is hard to see how it is anything else,” Mr Morris said.
“Whilst $8.9 million will enable the Corporations to refund half the price increase this year it will cost Treasury $17.8m next year and $26.7m in 2011/12 to achieve the government’s poll-driven backflip.”
“The announcement by Premier Bartlett is a poorly thought through knee-jerk reaction that will create more headaches for the new water corporations whilst doing very little to resolve the underlying problems that he and Treasurer Aird created when they decided to introduce the massive price shocks earlier in the year.”
“There was already an annual review mechanism built into the legislation, which the Greens had argued should have been brought forward, and that should have been the process, instead the Premier has overridden and sidelined the Economic Regulator making a complete mockery of being data-driven; clearly Bartlett is poll-driven.”
“Mr Bartlett also needs to clarify just when and how refunds will be made as Treasurer Aird said it will be by Christmas while Geoff Willis is reported as saying it will take months.”
“Clarity is also needed as to whether the government intends to compensate the Water and Sewerage Corporations for the significant amount of extra work they are being forced to do to calculate and refund an average of $50 per household,” said Mr Morris.
Tim Morris MP Greens Water spokesperson
