LNP promise performance monitoring for water retailers
The LNP are promising to save southeast Queenslanders hundreds of dollars on their water bills. Here is how they say they can do it.
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The LNP is promising to slash the cost of southeast Queensland water bills, pledging to impose independent performance monitoring on the water retailers.
Opposition Leader Deb Frecklington will unveil the election pitch today, claiming the LNP can save households “real money” as she tries to sure up votes in the state’s southeast.
Under their plan, southeast water retailers would be subjected to performance monitoring in a bid to find savings and efficiencies that can be passed onto customers.
The LNP say the Queensland Competition Authority found more than $200 million in cost saving measures when they undertook price monitoring investigations between 2010 and 2015.
“Queenslanders work too hard for their money to literally throw it down the drain,” Ms Frecklington said.
“The LNP will introduce performance monitoring to save families up to $620 over the next four years. This is smart policy that will save households real money.
“Independent economic regulators in Melbourne, Sydney and Canberra are delivering savings to households, but water bills in southeast Queensland just keep going up and up.”
An LNP government would direct the QCA to begin performance monitoring from July 1 next year, and insist there would be no extra cost to taxpayers.
They have also pointed to recommendations the QCA made in 2014 to introduce performance monitoring for retailers.
The savings plan would not apply to the bulk water charge – which increased by 3.5 per cent this financial year.
On average, water and sewerage bills in Brisbane are set to rise by about $9.88 per quarter from January 1, 2021, while the average quarterly water bill in Ipswich will increase by about $3.94.
Kim Vaughan, who lives in the Chatsworth electorate with her husband Leith and their three daughters (Grace, 6, Charli and Elsie, both 4), said: “You’re always thinking about water usage”.
“And you don’t want to waste it,” she said.
“Having a green lawn when you’ve got children is pretty important so that they’ve got somewhere to play.”
The LNP say their plan would mean the water retailers would still continue to set prices and make investment decisions.
But the QCA would monitor and report on their performances, including service quality, strategic investment, prices and customer engagement.
Ms Frecklington claimed some southeast Queensland families were paying nearly $700 more on their annual water bill than Sydney residents.
