Labor vows to fight TasWater’s proposed ‘immoral’ 14 per cent price rise

TasWater and the state government have hit back at Labor’s claims around proposed price rises for water and sewerage services, but Labor is standing by its figures.

TASWATER has vigorously rejected Labor’s figures on water price rises while the government says the Opposition is “scaremongering”.

A TasWater spokesperson said it was “not true” that water bills would rise by $453 a year.

“TasWater has applied to increase prices by 3.5 per cent per year for the next four years,” she said.

“This equates to an average household increase of $44 per year, or 84 cents per week for the 2022-2023 financial year.”

TasWater said the price would increase by $44 in 2023 to an average of about $1292.

In 2026, the average water bill would be $1433, a rise of $184 over four years.

State Growth Minister Michael Ferguson said for average Tasmanian households to face $453 extra for their water and sewerage bills, they would have to currently be paying about $3200 a year.

“This is totally false,” Mr Ferguson said.

“Labor have spun the figures and provided the cumulative total increase over four years based on annual increases.

“The reality is that households will face an average $46 per annum cost over the next four years.

“Households will not face a $453 hike in their bill as Labor have inferred.”

State Growth Minister Michael Ferguson said Labor’s price rise figures were “totally false”.

However, Labor’s finance spokesman Dean Winter was standing by his figures and said the increases add up to Tasmanians paying on average an $453 extra over the four-year period.

“It’s not surprising that the state government is embarrassed about their plan to increase water bills,” Mr Winter said.

“But the facts are that over four years the average Tasmanian household will pay $453 more for water and sewerage under Peter Gutwein’s plan.”

Mr Ferguson said a price increase of 3.5 per cent had been applied with effect from July 1, 2021, the first increase since July 1, 2018.

“This means that the price increase is actually over six years, averaging out at 2.33 per cent over that period,” he said.

Households face ‘immoral’ 14 per cent water price rise

TASMANIANS will be slugged with a massive 14 per cent rise in water bills over the next four years, a move Labor describes as “immoral” as it vows to fight the proposal.

Labor will ask the Tasmanian Economic Regulator not to approve the planned increases, claiming the rises would add about $450 to the average household water bill over four years.

In a recent government business enterprise hearing, Labor leader Rebecca White asked TasWater chief executive Mike Brewster to confirm it had launched a proposed price and service plan with the Regulator to increase prices by 3.5 per cent each year for the next four years.

Mr Brewster said that was “correct” and had been signalled in TasWater’s 10-year plan that was agreed with the government.

“The 3.5 per cent reflects the MOU we entered into with the government that then got converted into a shareholder’s agreement,” he said.

“The government would be fully aware part of the arrangement that was put in place when we executed the MOU was that prices would be capped at 3.5 per cent.”

TasWater CEO Mike Brewster. Picture: NIKKI DAVIS-JONES

Labor’s finance spokesman Dean Winter said the government had applied to the independent economic watchdog for the increase at the same time Hobart had become the most expensive city in Australia in which to live.

He said TasWater had confirmed that government ministers were “fully aware” of the move, which would hit family budgets.

“What this will mean is a price hike of $453 for the average family,” Mr Winter said.

“The government clearly has no intention of addressing the cost of living, which is seeing families battling to keep a roof over their heads and food on the table – how, in good conscience, can they possibly be pushing for this to go ahead?

“Labor will write to the Economic Regulator to plead the case for families and prevent Premier Peter Gutwein further targeting the family hip pocket.

“Mr Gutwein needs to attempt to understand the position of thousands of Tasmanian families who are already feeling the squeeze.”

Labor’s finance spokesman Dean Winter. Picture: Chris Kidd

In the GBE hearing last week, TasWater chief financial officer Matt Pigden said a 3.5 per cent increase was “equivalent to about $13m per annum, compounding each year on top of that”.

He said it was above the CPI but below “our full cost recovery”, which he said would have needed a 6 per cent a year increase.

“We don’t think that’s affordable to the Tasmanian community so we’ve elected to maintain that 3.5 per cent cap,” Mr Pigden said.

“We have an obligation to transition to that over a sensible period of time. In doing so we want to avoid any price shocks to customers.”

Mr Winter said Tasmanians were already suffering with rising fuel prices, increasing rents and council rates and “the highest power bills in the country”.

“In light of the fact that the average family is struggling under the weight of those increases, Mr Gutwein should withdraw his support for this new imposition,” he said.