Owners Benefit, So Owners Should Pay
www.tas.greens.org.au
The Tasmanian Greens today called on Treasurer Michael Aird to reveal whether he still intends to shift the responsibility for the payment of charges related to water and sewerage infrastructure away from property owners and onto occupiers, a intention previously condemned as unfair and unworkable by the Greens.
Greens Water spokesperson Tim Morris MP said that while it is fair to ensure that the user pays by shifting the volumetric component of the water and sewerage charge onto occupiers, it is unnecessary and unfair to shift the cost of the infrastructure itself onto occupiers who already pay for this component through their rental payments.
Mr Morris also said that the Treasurer’s move to force tenants and other property occupants to pay infrastructure costs that are currently met by property owners will cause a massive price shock for many thousands of lower income earning Tasmanians.
“The Treasurer must reveal whether he still intends to shift the cost of water and sewerage infrastructure onto tenants, or whether he has come to his senses and acknowledged that the property owner is the appropriate person to pay for permanent connections to their property,” said Mr Morris.
“When questioned about this in Parliament today the Treasurer did at least acknowledge that this is a serious issue, and it appears that he will be making an announcement on it after Parliament rises.”
“After 11 years of Labor in power, the government’s complaints about the state of Tasmania’s water and sewerage infrastructure are an admission of their own failure to manage our infrastructure.”
“It is fair for the occupier of the property to pay for their use of excess water, but it is wholly unfair to make them pay for the infrastructure that actually raises the value of the property itself – that charge should always be the responsibility of the owner who benefits from the increased value of their property.”
“If the Treasurer insists on imposing the infrastructure component for water and sewerage onto tenants then thousands of Tasmanians will be facing yet another huge price shock from this Bartlett Government.”
“Michael Aird should drop this unnecessary and unfair move to force tenants to pay water and sewerage infrastructure costs for which property owners will benefit,” said Mr Morris.
Mr Morris also said that the Greens have previously proposed alternative mechanisms to resolve equity issues in the water and sewerage reforms, such as examining partial debt-funding to reduce the size of the bills currently arriving in letterboxes.
Tim Morris MP Greens Water Spokesperson
