More Brisbane water reform needed

Thursday, 09 August 2007 21:52

This is revealed in a report by the Total Environment Centre (TEC) - the result of a two year investigation of regulatory and pricing arrangements for urban water services.

TEC Urban Water Campaigner Mr Leigh Martin said “current regulatory arrangements for water in South-East Queensland lack even basic standards of public accountability taken for granted in cities such as Melbourne, Sydney and Perth. While the Government’s water reforms will improve the efficiency of the system they will do nothing to address this serious lack of openness and transparency”.

TEC has called on the Government to bring water regulation into line with national best practice.

Lack of a strong licensing regime and public audit of performance for Brisbane Water was identified as a major failing of water administration in South-East Queensland. In other cities, the crucial operating licence is independently and publicly assessed. There is currently no comparable operating licence system in place for Brisbane Water.

“A rigorous, transparent operating licence and audit system would give South-East Queensland residents a clear picture of how their water supply is managed and how it compares with the rest of the country,” Mr Martin said.

Price setting mechanisms have also been heavily criticised with lack of public consultation again being a major problem.

Water prices in Melbourne, Sydney and Perth are set through an open, public process conducted by an independent regulatory agency. In Brisbane and South-East Queensland the Queensland Competition Authority’s (QCA) role is limited to monitoring the pricing practices of the water utilities.

“Queensland water customers are entitled to have their say on pricing decisions. The Government should expand the powers of the QCA to allow it to conduct open public pricing inquiries and set prices for water utilities,” Mr Martin said.

“The current restructure of the water industry presents an historic opportunity for South-East Queensland to set the pace on urban water management. This must include full public accountability and participation in all aspects of regulation and pricing,” Mr Martin said.

Urban Water Regulation in Australia