REPORT FROM EARLIER THIS YEAR  

A recent Energy and Water Ombudsman report shows that Victorians are feeling the impact of rising water bills, with the Ombudsman receiving more complaints about bills, fees and charges, Shadow Minister for Urban Water Louise Asher said today.

Ms Asher said the May 2010 issue of Resolution, published by the Energy and Water Ombudsman, shows that Victorians are suffering from Labor’s hikes in water bills.

The report revealed that in the period July to December 2009, the Ombudsman dealt with 1,075 cases against the Victorian water authorities. This is an increase of 43 per cent on the same period of the previous year, when only 750 cases were received.

Fifty-two per cent of those cases were in relation to billing, which was also the number one issue.

The report also showed that the number of cases and complaints made against the metropolitan retailers City West Water, South East Water and Yarra Valley Water has steadily increased over the past year.

In the July to December 2008 period, 392 complaints were received. The number increased to 480 in the January to June 2009 period, and to 608 in the July to December 2009 period.

“Bills being too high and fees and charges dominated the complaint categories against the metropolitan retailers. Payment difficulties were also in the top five complaints received,” Ms Asher said.

Ms Asher said these figures show that the Brumby Government’s decision to mandate massive increases in water prices is having a negative impact on Melburnians.

The Essential Services Commission recently announced that water prices are likely to increase by up to 64 per cent from 2009-10 to 2012-13 in order to fund the Brumby Government’s infrastructure projects such as the desalination plant and the Food Bowl Modernisation Project.

The Victorian Parliamentary Environment and Natural Resources Committee Inquiry into Melbourne’s Future Water Supply revealed last year that water consumers will actually be funding almost 90 per cent of the government’s $4.9 billion water infrastructure projects.

“After eleven years in office this Labor Government has failed to ease the burden on Victorians who are continually suffering for Labor’s inability to act and secure water supplies earlier,” Ms Asher said

The Brumby Government’s failure to plan for appropriate water infrastructure has led to a series of ill-conceived projects such as the north-south pipeline, a report released by Engineers Australia shows today.

Shadow Minister for Country Water Resources and Deputy Leader of The Nationals Peter Walsh said the report was a damning assessment of the Brumby Government’s performance across key areas of water infrastructure including potable water, stormwater, wastewater and irrigation.

“The report shows Labor failed to act on the water crisis or to address ongoing water restrictions until it was too late,” Mr Walsh said.

“Taxpayers are now forking out millions of dollars for expensive and unnecessary projects because John Brumby failed to plan for the state’s water needs.

“Worse still, Engineers Australia believes planning to achieve major changes in water supply and use is still not evident, meaning additional desalination plants may be needed in the future.”

In a series of forthright criticisms, the report found:

• The Wonthaggi desalination plant may not have been needed if other sources of water supply had been pursued seriously since the 1990s;
• The best value water solution may not have been selected in several major water augmentation projects;
• The government should have implemented a state-wide urban stormwater strategy;
• The government’s failure to find uses for billions of litres of Class-A recycled water from the Eastern Treatment Plant is a waste of valuable water; and
• Water savings from irrigation projects may have been over-estimated.

Mr Walsh said the report backed the Victorian Liberal Nationals Coalition’s calls for increased use of stormwater.

“This report confirms that Labor’s water policies have been wasteful,” Mr Walsh said.

“John Brumby has spent millions of dollars on the north-south pipeline and the Wonthaggi desalination plant when he could have harvested stormwater from Melbourne’s own catchment.”

Mr Walsh said the report also validated concerns that the Brumby Government had overstated the water savings available from its irrigation projects.

“This report confirms that the Brumby Government cannot be trusted to manage Victoria’s water,” Mr Walsh said.

There is no justification to move Melbourne to Stage 4 water restrictions, despite the Minister for Water’s non-announcement on 20 November that Melbourne will remain on Stage 3A water restrictions, Shadow Minister for Urban Water Louise Asher said.

Stage 4 water restrictions have a trigger point of 29.3 per cent. The current water levels are at 37.9 per cent.

Ms Asher said the Brumby Government has clearly failed Melburnians on the delivery of one of its basic services – water. In 2002, the former Labor Premier pledged that water was a major issue for his government. However, almost seven years on, Melbourne still has no major new source of water.

Labor has been in government since late 1999 and in that time could have:

• Built a new dam;
• Built a desalination plant; and/or
• Expedited recycling projects such as the Eastern Treatment Plant upgrade. The Government has failed to deliver on this upgrade, which means that we do not have sufficient recycled water to use now, for industry, agriculture or for the watering of public gardens and sporting grounds. The upgrade was announced in 2002 but will not be completed until 2012.

The most interesting part of Labor’s non-announcement is the fact that Stage 3A water restrictions will be reviewed in the New Year at the time water is supposed to begin flowing down the north-south pipeline. The 75 gigalitres meant to come down the pipeline for Melbourne has only been guaranteed for 2010 – an election year.

The Brumby Government is setting itself up to act as a ‘saviour’ for Melbourne when the north-south pipeline comes on line in 2010.

“This Labor Government loves publicity stunts and I call on the Minister for Water not to have a taxpayer-funded campaign spruiking the north-south pipeline when he announces Melbourne’s water restriction level next year,” Ms Asher said.

“If the government had done its job properly and supplied Melbourne with water, Melburnians would not be on harsh restrictions,” Ms Asher said.