Page 1469 - Week 05 - Wednesday, 10 April 2013
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It seems to be brushed aside by some people concerned as “Well, you know, that was not a real cost estimate; that was just an interim cost estimate.” It is utterly unacceptable.
Canberrans are rightly concerned about the impact of that and other matters on what is going to happen with their water bills. We are paying too much for water. It is not me saying that; that is the ICRC. What is going to happen to our water prices in this jurisdiction? Let me quote from Malcolm Gray, the Senior Commissioner of the ACT ICRC. He said:
To be frank it’s difficult to account for some of the disparities that one sees between our water prices and the water prices in other jurisdictions.
This year the ICRC released a draft determination on the price of water to be charged to Canberrans. In February this year, Malcolm Gray, when commenting, said:
… I think the responsibility for the less than optimum outcomes—
let me say that again: “the less than optimum outcomes”—
that the community has had to endure of recent years should be laid widely across those who’re responsible.
No wonder the government does not want a performance audit! He said:
It’s a systemic issue; the regulatory regime has not been as finely tuned as it ought to have been, ACTEW’s management may not have been as astute in some areas as it might have been.
He went on to say:
… the Commission is arguing that we need a much more holistic, integrated and adaptive approach to our water resource with much clearer guidance given to ACTEW on water security targets that it ought to be aiming for, rather than it groping in the dark for what the community needed.
Who was meant to set those targets for ACTEW? Certainly, the shareholders or the government. So ACTEW has been groping around, and that is what the independent regulator found. No wonder the government does not want a light shone on that.
And further, if that was not enough, there was a media interview on ABC 666. The interviewer said:
… you’ve gone back and done this root and branch research … has there been problems with the way ACTEW has been managed over many, many years? Is that what you’re saying?
The commissioner said, “Yes.” So he is saying that there have been problems with the way ACTEW has been managed over many years. And we are seeing some of that come through in the media now, and through the Assembly and the concerns that have been raised recently in this place.
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