Water levy to pump $694m into Vic Treasury
The levy all Victorians pay via their water corporations to the Andrews Government is about to hit new heights.
THE cash-strapped Victorian Government will siphon $173.5 million from the state’s households’, businesses’ and irrigators’ water bills from July 1, 11 per cent more than the $156 million collected this financial year.
Victorian Water Minister Lisa Neville released the environmental contribution order earlier this month, under which the Government will collect almost $700 million in levies from all urban and rural water corporations over the next four years.
When the EC levy was introduced in 2008 it collected $69.4 million annually, rising to $112 million by 2018. But by June this year the Andrews Government’s levy revenue had jumped to $156 million and will now rise again to $173.5 million for 2020-21.
It means the Government is now collecting 55 per cent more in levies than just two years, driven by population growth and a surge in water corporation revenue.
Most of the EC revenue is collected as a 5 per cent levy on all urban water corporations’ revenue from water and sewerage, trade waste, irrigation (including drainage), stock and domestic and diversion services, plus all other revenue earned by these authorities unless specifically excluded.
Ms Neville said the levy rate remained the same at 5 per cent in the city and 2 per cent for rural water corporations.
“The only thing that has changed is the amount of revenue turned over, which is mainly due to population growth,” Ms Neville said. “Water bills will not change.”
Ms Neville said regional communities benefited from the EC levy, which was poured back into irrigation modernisation projects, improving regional waterways, better recreational water access and improvements to water markets.
The last four-year tranche of EC levies earned the Government $537.1 million in the four years to June 30, some of which was spent on:
CLIMATE change research, $7.6 million.
IMPROVING the health of waterways in regional Victoria (spent on environmental water contributions, revegetation of waterways and riparian fencing), $148.3 million.
SUSTAINABLE Irrigation Future Initiative, $43 million.
WERRIBEE and Bacchus Marsh irrigation modernisation, plus the South West Loddon stock and domestic supply project, $43.8 million.
WATER resource planning, accounting and monitoring, $50 million.
VICTORIA’S contribution to the Murray Darling Basin Authority, $6.85 million annually.
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